The increase in Britons taking staycations has sparked a bidding war over a single beach hut which is set to sell for more than £325,000.
The wooden cabin at Mudeford Spit in Christchurch Harbour, Dorset, was listed for sale for the same asking price as a five bedroom detached house in Hull last Friday.
Since then four potential buyers have put in offers on the 12ft by 10ft hut – two of them without even viewing it.
Negotiations are said to be ongoing but the final sale price will easily smash the record amount paid for a beach hut on the exclusive sandy peninsula.
Last week a second hut, that was also listed for £325,000, sold for just under that amount after being on the market for just a few days.
The average price of a house in the UK is £231,185, according to recent Government data from January this year.
In 2018 another property on Mudeford became the country’s most expensive beach hut after selling for £295,000.
The wooden cabin at Mudeford Spit in Christchurch Harbour, Dorset, was listed for sale for the same asking price as a five bedroom detached house in Hull last Friday
Cars are banned from the remote spit which has to be reached by a ride on a novelty land train, a short ferry crossing or a 30 minute walk
The huts at Mudeford have no mains electricity or running water and shower facilities are in a shared communal block.
Cars are banned from the remote spit which has to be reached by a ride on a novelty land train, a short ferry crossing or a 30 minute walk.
But its isolated position is what attracts wealthy people to buy the cabins which can sleep up to six people each.
The demand for them has never been greater due to people being put off travelling abroad this summer.
The COVID-19 restrictions on staying overnight in holiday homes were lifted on July 4 and then yesterday Boris Johnson urged Britons to holiday at home his year.
Andy Denison, of Christchurch-based Denisons estate agents, said: ‘The demand for the beach huts at Mudeford is the highest I have ever known it right now. It has gone crazy.
The interior of the £325,000 currently on sale. The huts at Mudeford have no mains electricity or running water and shower facilities are in a shared communal block
The demand for them has never been greater due to people being put off travelling abroad this summer
‘We have sold two in the last week or so. One was on for £275,000 but the other had an asking price of £325,000 and it went for just under that.
‘We took on another one last Friday for £325,000, we arranged for two viewings that afternoon.
‘Since then we have had four parties putting in offers. Negotiations are ongoing but it will sell for over that asking price which will be a record.
‘These people are cash buyers from out of the area who want to enjoy the English seaside this year and maybe rent the hut out to other holidaymakers as well.
‘It is all down to the increase in staycations.
‘People are throwing in the towel on foreign holidays this year, they are very wary of them.
‘The cost of flights and hotels is starting to get expensive and people don’t know what it will be like in the resort when they get there in terms of being restricted in hotels and restaurants.’
There are about 360 beach huts at Mudeford, all of which are privately owned. Pictured: The beach hut’s loft
There are about 360 beach huts at Mudeford, all of which are privately owned.
The hut being fought over is in an ‘excellent’ position on the spit, with uninterrupted views of the Isle of Wight to the front and Christchurch Harbour behind.
It has a small kitchen that has a fridge freezer and a cooker run on Calor gas and hot water from a pump powered by solar panels on the roof.
The front half of the hut has the lounge area that doubles as a bedroom which can sleep four people.
A small set of wooden steps leads to a small sleeping area in the loft space for two more people.
It also has a chemical toilet and double glazed windows and double doors that lead out to a small decking where there is a barbecue.
As well as the eye-watering purchase price, the owners have to pay annual rates to Bournemouth Christchurch and Poole Council of about £4,500 a year.
Owners can only sleep in the huts from March to October but can visit any time of year.