Are they CABIN a laugh? Rundown Dorset beach hut on market for £60,000
Are they CABIN a laugh? rundown Dorset beach hut with NO fixtures or fittings hits market for £60,000
- The beach hut is 30 years old and will need to be replaced, with a brand-new hut costing around £2,000
- It is located at Friars Cliff Beach in Christchurch, Dorset, and looks out to The Solent and the Isle of Wight
- Neighbouring beach huts in a much better condition have been listed between £55,000 and £75,000
- Beach huts have become ‘highly desirable’ during the pandemic with some listed for as much as £575,000
A beach hut that looks almost exactly the same as a £500 garden shed has gone on the market for a staggering £60,000.
The run-down timber hut is about 30 years old and has no fixtures or fittings inside.
Measuring 7ft by 8ft, it is about the same size as an average garden shed but its ‘idyllic position’ makes it 120 times more expensive.
The cabin is located at Friars Cliff Beach in Christchurch, Dorset, and looks out to The Solent and the Isle of Wight.
It is considerably cheaper than some of its Dorset neighbours, which have gone on the market for almost £600,000 – more than double the price of an average home.
However, this beach hut will need replacing and can only be used in the daytime.
The run-down timber hut is located at Friars Cliff Beach in Christchurch, Dorset, and looks out to The Solent and the Isle of Wight
The beach hut is 30 years old and has no fixtures or fittings inside. However, this beach hut will need replacing and can only be used in the daytime
The run-down cabin has been likened to a garden shed that could be purchased from the B&Q website for just £559, 12 times less than the £60,000 asking price of the beach hut
Prospective buyers have been warned that the current hut needs replacing and the cost of having a new hut placed on the same plot has been estimated to be about £2,000
The new owners will also be faced with having to pay an £800 licence fee to the council.
The cost of having a brand-new hut placed on the same plot has been estimated to be about £2,000.
Neighbouring beach huts of this run-down cabin have also been listed with asking prices between £55,000 and £75,000 but look in much better condition and won’t need instant replacing.
Gareth Bowden, from local estate agents Winkworth, said beach huts are highly desirable at the moment as the pandemic has led to more people wanting to holiday at home.
That desirability caused a tiny 13ft by 10ft timber cabin, which sits on the Mudeford sandbank in Christchurch Harbour, Dorset, to fetch an asking price of £575,000 in September, despite it having no toilet, electricity or running water.
Mr Bowden said: ‘We’ve seen the beach huts on the front row at Friars Cliff sell for as much as £90,000 recently. This one is on at that price because it’s an older hut and it’s in the second row behind.
‘It is a very old hut, I think anyone buying it would just replace it. But the cost of a new hut is only a couple of thousand of pounds.
‘As long as you keep measurements within the parameters the council sets, you can pretty much do what you like inside.
‘Most people put in a kitchen worktop unit at the back with cupboards and some have gas canisters and a hob for making tea and coffee. We sold one that had a pull-down day bed.
‘They are day huts so you can’t stay overnight. The rules are generally you can access it an hour before sunrise and stay until an hour after sunset.’
Neighbouring beach huts of this run-down cabin have also been listed in recent days with asking prices between £55,000 and £75,000 but look in much better condition and won’t need instant replacing
Gareth Bowden, from local estate agents Winkworth, said beach huts on the front row at Friars Cliff sell for as much as £90,000 recently, but this older hut is on the second row and listed for £60,000
Mr Bowden added: ‘It’s part of a deceased estate and the family have had it for 30 years.
‘We tend to get three or four beach huts come up every year. For the front row I have a waiting list so they don’t tend to even make it to the open market, but the second row don’t sell as quickly.
‘It’s a lifestyle thing, we often get people buying a house in the area and then looking for a beach hut to go with it.
‘Or we get people from out of the area but within easy reach who are happy to travel to the beach and want to have a base there when they do.
‘Ten years ago, you could pick up one of these huts for £20,000 so they have more than doubled in price basically.
‘Friars Cliff is a very popular beach, but quieter than Avon Beach.’
Britain’s most expensive beach hut hits the market for record-breaking £575,000: Tiny cabin with no mains electricity, toilet or running water goes on sale for more than DOUBLE price of average home
Britain’s most expensive beach hut has gone on the market for more than double the price of an average home at £575,000 – despite having no toilet, electricity or running water.
The tiny 13ft by 10ft timber cabin sits on the Mudeford sandbank in Christchurch Harbour, Dorset, well-known for being home to some of the most expensive beach huts in the country.
The wooden cabins have always commanded premium prices but they are now selling for more than people pay for a four-bedroom house in many parts of the country.
Just last month one hut sold within hours of being listed for £350,000. It is thought the final sale price was well above this figure due to the amount of potential buyers vying for it as people move away from big cities amid the work from home revolution during the pandemic.
Hut 180 sleeps six people and has a fitted kitchen with an integrated fridge freezer and a water heater run via solar panels on the roof and an oven power by a gas bottle.
The seating area can be converted into two double beds and there is a set of steps leading to a mezzanine level where two more people can sleep.
Pictured: The green beach hut, number 180, at Mudeford Sandbank in Dorset
Pictured: The beach hut on Mudeford Sandbank with the red arrow pointed at it
Hut 180 sleeps six people and has a fitted kitchen with an integrated fridge freezer and a water heater run via solar panels on the roof and an oven power by a gas bottle
The seating area can be converted into two double beds and there is a set of steps leading to a mezzanine level where two more people can sleep
The tiny 13ft by 10ft timber cabin sits on the Mudeford sandbank in Christchurch Harbour, Dorset, well-known for being home to some of the most expensive beach huts in the country
There is no toilet or shower, with washing facilities in a communal shower block next door to it.
Cars are not allowed at Mudeford and the only way of getting there is via a 20-minute walk, a train ride or a short ferry trip across the harbour. But its remote and exclusive location is what makes it so desirable among rich people wanting a holiday home.
There are about 360 huts on the Mudeford sandbank and the prices for them have increased over the past 20 years due to demand outstripping supply.
In 2002 the humble huts were selling for £73,000. The following year one broke the six-figure mark for the first time, selling for £100,000.
By 2005 they were up to £135,000. There was a dip in the market due to the credit crunch of 2008 but prices were up to £170,000 by 2012. By 2014 the price increased to £270,000, then £300,000 in 2018.
As it is not possible to take out a mortgage on it, the wooden bolthole will be sold to a cash buyer.
There is no toilet or shower, with washing facilities in a communal shower block next door to it
Hut 180 sleeps six people and has a fitted kitchen with an integrated fridge freezer and a water heater run via solar panels on the roof and an oven power by a gas bottle
The seating area can be converted into two double beds and there is a set of steps leading to a mezzanine level where two more people can sleep
The hut boasts sea views looking out to the Isle of Wight from the front and Christchurch Harbour to the back
Pictured: The green beach hut, number 180, at Mudeford Sandbank in Dorset
The hut boasts sea views looking out to the Isle of Wight from the front and Christchurch Harbour to the back.
Andy Denison, of estate agents Denisons, described the cabin as one of the ‘finest located huts’ at Mudeford.
He said: ‘The property enjoys an elevated position with glorious uninterrupted front and rear views of the beach and harbour.
‘This truly high spec hut has recently undergone major improvements. The home comfortably sleeps six with two doubles on the ground floor and a double on the mezzanine.
‘We have had a few big surprises recently. There have been huts that have sold for well and above their asking prices. There are people who want that way of life and they can afford to have it.’
Members of the public have reacted with astonishment to the asking price. Kim Muckley posted on social media: ‘This is crazy money. You could buy an entire house for this price. How can this be right?’
Tim Baber is a former owner of a beach hut at Mudeford. His family cashed in on theirs in 2002 when it sold for £120,000.
The 65-year-old said: ‘When we sold ours I didn’t think the prices would go any higher but I was quickly proved wrong. Most people who are going to sell their huts have sold out by now and so you don’t get that many that come back on the market.
‘When one does become available I would guess that the estate agents have between 15 to 20 names on a waiting list and so the sale becomes something of a telephone auction with the richest person outbidding all the others.
Desirable: Locals believe the high prices could be down to the limited number available and the secluded, idyllic location
There are about 360 huts on the Mudeford sandbank that is so remote it requires a 20 minute walk to get to, a ride on a land train or a short ferry ride across Christchurch Harbour (pictured) and none of the wooden huts have electricity or toilets
‘In a lot of cases they are bought by people who work in the City spending their big bonuses. We sold ours to a guy from London who was a BBC manager.’
The new owners will also have to stump up about £4,500 a year to the local council in fees.
Buyers are attracted to the spit’s remote location as cars are banned. Because it is not possible to secure a mortgage for the beach huts, would-be owners have to be cash buyers. They also have to stump up about £4,500 a year to the local council in fees.
In 2002 the humble huts were selling for £73,000 but by the following year, one broke the six-figure mark for the first time, selling for £100,000.
By 2005 they were up to £135,000, but following the credit crunch in 2008 they dropped back to just £90,000.
This drop didn’t last long though and by January 2012 a hut was on the market for £145,000 and just six months later one sold for £170,000.
The prices of Britain’s most expensive beach huts on the exclusive Mudeford Sandspit in Dorset (pictured) are on course to break through the £400,000 barrier due to the huge demand for them by rich staycationers looking to get away this summer
Would-be owners have to be cash buyers and have to stump up £4,500 a year to the local council in fees. Pictured: Mudeford
In July 2014 one was up for £225,000 and a few weeks later another went on for £270,000. By January 2018 a hut had sold for £295,000 and another hit the £300,000 mark in March that year.
Last year there was a bidding war over a hut that sold for £325,000.
Mudeford beach hut owner Stephen Bath, former managing director of Bath Travel, said the high prices could be explained by the limited number available and the secluded, idyllic location.
He said: ‘There have only been about 10 huts added to the spit in 60 years so it is a question of supply, compared to Bournemouth where there are 1,500 huts and Brighton where there are 2,000.
‘These are enormous huts with amenities which you can live in for eight months of the year and it is a beautiful, peaceful location with the sea on one side and the harbour on another.
‘You feel like you are on a little island.
‘Obviously, the uncertainty over foreign travel will also help drive up prices with people growing fed up of government regulations.’
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