For a mere £450,000 (CAD$731,389.50) you can grabba the hut for sale on idyllic Mudeford Sandbank, near Bournemouth on Dorset, on England's southwest coast, with a nice view of the Isle of Wright..However, you need to be a bona fide lover of huts on the beach, and not just because of the price, which is a whopping £154,000 (CAD$250,298) more than the price tag of the average house in the UK, which is £296,000. The average four-bedroom in England can be had for £430,000 (CAD$698,883)..The listing agent, Andy Denison, of Denison's estate agents, says it’s so pricey because it is the best-positioned hut on Mudeford and unlike most of the other 350 huts there, it is on a single row with no others in front or behind it..“This means the new owners will have dual aspect views of the sea and the Isle of Wight on one side and Christchurch Harbour from the other,” says Denison..The beach hut (the Daily Mail online calls it a wooden shack) features neither a toilet nor a shower and it takes a 30-minute walk to get to. But, hey, it’s close to the exclusive Sandbank Resort, where, apparently, a lot of English celebrities live.. Hut 2 .The hut, known as Hut 170, is outfitted with a kitchenette, sun deck and underground storage space..But, dally not if you’re interested in owning it..Denison says it has a waiting list of prospective buyers and believes it will sell quickly..More than 20 people were in line for up to 30 hours for the chance to secure it and at the head of the line was Ken Ryder, 73, who left a New Year's Eve party so he could get first pick..Denison believes the trend for staycations is driving up demand and prices..“It might be mid-winter and wet and windy but now is the best time of year to be buying and selling beach huts,” he said. “People are back at work and are starting to think about their staycations or about taking a new direction for their summer holidays.”.“From April 1, the local council will be increasing ground rents for beach huts so now is the time to get in and buy before that happens.”.“Also, if people buy now they will be ready for the start of summer.”. Hut 3 .Unlike most other beach huts across the country, the ones at Mudeford can be slept in for eight months of the year..“Hut 170 can sleep six people, with the seats in the lounge area being converted into a bed and a mezzanine floor level offering more sleeping space,” said Denison. “It has solar panels on the roof which can provide 12 volts of power for an electric fridge, kettle and lights. It has a gas oven powered by calor gas bottles.”.A wooden deck at the rear makes the most of the sunset harbour views while the front doors open out to the sandy beach..While there is no internal plumbing, there is a communal toilet and shower block nearby..Denison is correct about rising prices.. Hut 4 .Over the past 20 years, prices for beach huts at Mudeford have gone from £80,000 to well over £400,000 today..“In 2017, one of the beach huts, measuring just 19.7 square metres sold for a whopping £270,000 (CAD$438,833) while in 2020, another tiny hut sold for £330,000 (CAD$536,352), after a bidding war,” said Denison..This latest costly cabin is impossible to secure a mortgage on and so interested parties must be cash-buyers..“With the beach huts at Mudeford people are buying a lifestyle as well as an investment,” said Denison. “There is a vibrant community of hut owners and people go and spend all weekend down there.”
