A BRAND new beach hut on an exclusive spit of land in Dorset has gone on the market for a record-breaking £350,000.
The little wooden cabin can command such a price thanks to its spectacular location on Mudeford Spit in Christchurch – home to Britain’s most expensive huts.
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Despite the fact it costs as much as a five-bedroom house in some parts of the UK, the tiny holiday home has no bathroom or mains electricity.
Huts at Mudeford sell for huge sums of money due to the sandbank’s remote location, with its sandy beach looking out over Christchurch Bay and out to the Needles and the Isle of Wight.
One of the tiny wooden properties set a new record in July 2020 when it sold for £330,000.
The cabin, built in April this year to replace an older model, can sleep up to six people, with four mattresses on a mezzanine level in the roof and the seating areas downstairs doubling as extra beds.
Solar panels provide electricity to power the lighting and a fridge and there is a water pump for the kitchen sink.
But the owners will have to share a communal shower block as there is no bathroom – and they can only stay overnight between April and October.
Buyers are attracted to the spit’s remote location as cars are banned. Visitors can only get there by a 30-minute walk, a ride on a novelty land train or a short ferry trip across Christchurch Harbour.
Because it is not possible to secure a mortgage for the beach huts, would-be owners have to be cash buyers. They will also have to stump up about £4,500 a year to the local council in fees.
HUT’S PRICE WOULD BE RECORD-BREAKER
There are about 350 huts on Mudeford Sandbank. They generally measure 12ft by 10ft. Many have been kept in the same families for generations.
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.
“Huts have regularly been going for £325,000 over the past year but this is the first one I know of to ask for £350,000.
“It is a big jump but I suspect they will get it.”
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