Britain’s most expensive beach hut has sold for a record price of £295,000 – despite having no mains electricity or toilet.
The wooden cabin is on the exclusive Mudeford Spit in Christchurch, Dorset, which is home to the most costly beach huts in the country.
Last summer one went on the market for a record £280,000, but Hut 413 has now smashed that figure, at a price which could buy a six-bedroom detached town house elsewhere in the country.
The sum is largely down to the hut’s stunning location on the desirable sandbank, set just yards from the water’s edge, with spectacular and uninterrupted views across Christchurch Bay towards the Isle of Wight and the Needles.
Last summer a beach hut went on the market for a record £280,000, but Hut 413 has now smashed that figure with £295,000, at a price which could buy a six-bedroom detached town house elsewhere in the country
Unlike many of the huts at Mudeford, this hut does have running water in the kitchen, provided from a standpipe and heated by a gas hot water cylinder. But for shower and toilet facilities the new owners will have to go to the nearby communal block
Hut 413 has a mezzanine floor that currently sleeps three people but could sleep four and the sofa pulls out into a double bed. There is also space for a dining table and four chairs
Lighting is provided by solar panels on the roof, the full-size domestic oven runs on Calor gas bottles and there is a solar-powered fridge freezer
Britain’s most expensive beach hut cabin is on the exclusive Mudeford Spit in Christchurch, Dorset, which is home to the most costly beach huts in the country
The beach hut measures 21ft by 10ft and can comfortably sleep six. The huts rarely come on the market and generally sell very quickly. Owners can only sleep in the huts from March to October but can visit any time of year.
The sandbank, which can only be accessed by a 20-minute walk, novelty land train or by ferry, has about 350 beach huts, some of which have been in the same family for decades.
Hut 413 has a mezzanine floor that currently sleeps three people but could sleep four and the sofa pulls out into a double bed. There is also space for a dining table and four chairs.
Lighting is provided by solar panels on the roof, the full-size domestic oven runs on Calor gas bottles and there is a solar-powered fridge freezer.
The record sum is largely down to the hut’s stunning location on the desirable sandbank, set just yards from the water’s edge
As well as the eye-watering purchase price, the new owners will also have to pay annual rates to Christchurch Borough Council of about £500 and a licence fee of about £4,500 a year
The beach hut has spectacular and uninterrupted views across Christchurch Bay towards the Isle of Wight and the Needles
Owners rent the huts out for more than £1,000 a week in the summer with guests happy to pay the money to stay at the luxurious beach resort
Hut 78, which has similar features, pushed the record sale up to £280,000 in July last year, but hut 413 has now surpassed the record with £295,000
As well as the eye-watering purchase price, the new owners will also have to pay annual rates to Christchurch Borough Council of about £500 and a licence fee of about £4,500 a year
Unlike many of the huts at Mudeford, this hut does have running water in the kitchen, provided from a standpipe and heated by a gas hot water cylinder. But for shower and toilet facilities the new owners will have to go to the nearby communal block.
It also has a hard-wearing solid oak floor, inner walls built from ash, solid wood worktops and double glazed windows. There is also a large sun deck looking out onto the beach.
The same money could buy a variety of properties across the country, ranging from small flats above a shop to luxurious town houses.
In Exeter, Devon, £295,000 could buy a spacious three-bedroom detached house with a large garden, while in Maidstone, Kent, the same money would cover a well-kept three-bedroom terraced house.
Further from London, a keen buyer in Durham, County Durham, could pick up a five-bedroom town house with balconies for the same asking price, while a six-person family could move into a similar property in Carlisle, Cumbria.
In Colliers Wood, London, however, the same money would only take the buyer as far as a one-bed maisonette above a shop on the High Street.
The huts rarely come on the market and generally sell very quickly. Owners can only sleep in the huts from March to October but can visit any time of year
A partner at the estate agents said the beach huts at Mudeford Spit were unusual because owners could sleep in them
The sandbank, which can only be accessed by a 20-minute walk, novelty land train or by ferry, has about 350 beach huts, some of which have been in the same family for decades
The same money that bought the beach hut could buy a variety of properties across the country, ranging from small flats above a shop in London to luxurious town houses in the North
And even a parking space in central London, near Hyde Park, would cost just £5,000 more than the beach hut with its luxury location.
The record for the most expensive beach hut was beaten twice in 2017, both times at the popular Mudeford location.
A hut went for £275,000 last March, while another sale in July, this time for Hut 78 which also has no running water, pushed the record up to £280,000.
Owners rent the huts out for more than £1,000 a week in the summer with guests happy to pay the money to stay at the luxurious beach resort.
As well as the eye-watering purchase price, the new owners will also have to pay annual rates to Christchurch Borough Council of about £500 and a licence fee of about £4,500 a year.
Miles Tarpey, partner at Slades Estate Agents, said: ‘These huts are incredibly popular and tend not to stay on the market for very long.
‘The beach huts are unusual in that you can sleep in them overnight. Ultimately this is what makes the price higher.
‘There are other parts of the country where you can get beach huts with sleeping facilities, but with the brilliant views of the Isle of Wight and of the harbour, the location stands out as a real beauty spot.
‘This one was popular because it fronted onto the beach and there are some locations people look for.
‘If you are looking to buy a holiday retreat in bricks and mortar to sleep four or five people you are looking at a lot more money than the cost of the beach hut. With these huts you have such an amazing location and the prices are probably going to continue to rise.’