Would you pay £60,000 for a beach hut?
The beach hut in Wells-on-Sea which sold for £59,000 and Max Sowerby, inset. Pic: Sowerbys/Archant
The British summer tradition of owning a beach hut will cost you as much as £60,000 in Norfolk – but it's not 'financial lunacy' say agents.
This beach hut is for sale for £60,000 in Wells-on-Sea. Pic: Belton Duffey
Every summer beach huts come on the market with prices from just £5,000 for a derelict one in Heacham to £60,000 for a prime spot in Wells-on-Sea. You'll pay around £10,000 more in Southwold, Suffolk - where the most expensive beach hut went on sale last year for a whopping £150,000, more than the price of a terraced house.
And these mini seaside havens, which epitomise the bucket-and-spade holiday, are still in demand, with one estate agent reporting selling four in the past week.
It comes as a council is under fire for only managing to sell four out of 20 new beach huts in Gorleston for £19,800 each which are now up for rent on the Lower Esplanade for £120 a week or £1,200 for eight months.
The beach huts in Gorleston went up for rent last week. Picture: Great Yarmouth Borough Council - Credit: Archant
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But buyers are more savvy than you might think, buying beach huts to rent out alongside a second home holiday let - with the going rate being £32 a day's hire or £224 for a week. More and more beach huts are also being given an interiors make-over with some even decorated in designer wallpaper and fitted with luxury kitchen equipment, given appealing names like 'The Den' or 'Seaside Retreat' and marketed on sites like Airbnb.
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Kevin Sisman, at Belton Duffey estate agents in Wells-on-Sea, currently with a beach hut for £60,000, said: "It's not the financial lunacy it may seem because if you've got a second home or holiday let, you buy one and rent it for £150 a week or include it as a bolt-on which makes your holiday accommodation stand out over others. Families love them because you can store all your beach stuff for a week. What price can you actually put on it?
The Den in Wells-on-Sea is available to hire daily for £32 on Airbnb. Pic: Airbnb
"As an investment, you'll also get as much from putting your money in the bank when you come to sell it."
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This beach hut is for sale for £60,000 in Wells-on-Sea with Belton Duffey. Pic: Belton Duffey
Max Sowerby, owner of Sowerbys property agency, which recently sold a beach-hut for £59,000, said: "Many of us chase our childhoods, people will invest in trying to give their children the same childhood they had. It's priceless when you get out your buckets and spades and your ham sandwiches."
Beach huts can come with added costs of ground rent, rates and an administration fee and you're not allowed to stay in them overnight and usually only from April to September. Many also need to be raised on stilts for protection from flooding in winter months which can cost up to £2,000.
What price do you put on this? The view from the beach hut for sale in Wells-on-Sea for £60,000. Pic: Belton Duffey
