A beach hut overlooking the North Sea has been snapped up for £65,000 within hours of going on sale.
The hut, which measures 7ft 10in x 7ft and comes with its own electricity supply, sold for a record price in the area at around £20,000 more than others sold in Felixstowe, Suffolk.
The boom in beach hut sales has been prompted by the pandemic as families plan to holiday in the UK rather than risk travelling abroad.
Staycation bookings have risen by 136 per cent for May compared to the same time before the coronavirus outbreak.
The hut, which measures 7ft 10in x 7ft and comes with its own electricity supply, sold for a record price in the area at around £20,000 more than others sold in Felixstowe, Suffolk
Speaking about the sale of the beach hut, Charlie Papworth, of Diamond Mills estate agents, said: ‘It sold for the asking price, within hours of being offered for sale.
‘There is a lot of demand for beach huts at the moment, and this is a record price, about £20,000 more than any other huts we have sold in Felixstowe.
‘One reason for the higher price is the very good location, close to the Fludyers Hotel.
‘Another was that it has its own electricity supply, which is very unusual.
‘Beach huts are selling fast because more people plan to holiday at home due to Covid-19. The pandemic is the driving force.
‘We have other beach huts on sale but they are going fast – one on the cliff-top has also sold, for £45,000.
‘Another, next to the pier, has just gone on sale for £40,000.’
The beach shack facing out on to the North Sea has been snapped up for £65,000 within hours of going on sale
Speaking about the sale of the beach hut, Charlie Papworth, of Diamond Mills estate agents, said: ‘It sold for the asking price, within hours of being offered for sale’
The spike in demand has seen seaside councils drawing up plans for extra pitches to boost profits.
Ten more beach shacks have been installed along Gorleston’s prom in Norfolk amid a surge in demand in recent weeks.
All 10 have been sold on either a 10 or 20-year lease – generating up to £19,800 each for Great Yarmouth Borough Council.
It brings the total number along the stretch to 30 – 19 of which are sold, 10 are for annual hire and one is available for shorter term lets.
Carl Smith, council leader, said he was delighted the beach huts have seen a surge in popularity.
‘Last year they were boosted by the staycation summer, and this year could well be the same,’ he said.
‘We put 10 down in the first lockdown and they proved to be popular and we will look at demand and put another 10 down there.
‘It takes people to actually be in them, then it springboards from there.
‘Any revenue that comes into the council is welcome in these times. They were slow to start with but are now becoming popular.’
Elsewhere, 100 hundred huts were planned in Herne Bay and Whitstable in Kent to cash in on the Covid-19 staycation boom and Canterbury City Council said it also hoped to raise £2million from the sales.
Demand has ‘gone bonkers’ said Canterbury Council Spokesman Rob Davies.
‘Our finances are in a perilous state, and one of our key approaches has been to look for income-raising opportunities, which will reduce the level of savings we need to find and help us retain vital front-line services such as rough sleeper work and reducing homelessness.
‘The plan for new beach huts is therefore a commercial project to bring in income, as well as meeting the demand we know exists.
‘Even taking into account the build costs, we would expect to make a healthy profit, which would help us balance the books in the next couple of years.’
He said seaside towns would welcome it because more beach huts mean more tourists with money to spend.
‘We are absolutely certain that local residents would support us in pursuing income-generating projects like this, rather than having to cut services more and more.’
Beach huts have recently been changing hands in Herne Bay for about £16,000 but in Whitstable they tend to fetch fees in the region of £25,000.
Councillor Andrew Cook, who chairs Herne Bay Beach Hut Owners’ Association, said some have risen in value by up to 30 per cent.
‘Over the Covid period, the prices have gone up dramatically because people can’t holiday abroad and spend fortunes flying all over the world.
‘These people have a lot of disposable income to spend now. Beforehand, people would be choosy, but now they’re buying anything because everyone’s desperate to get their hands on a beach hut. It’s gone bonkers.’
He estimates there are about 260 huts in the town and owners have been approached by people prepared to outbid each other to secure one.
Mr Cook said: ‘It’s the most luxurious thing to have when you can’t go anywhere. We had waiting lists already, but they’ve got phenomenally large.’
The UK’s most expensive beach hut was sold in July last year after receiving offers of £330,000 following an intense bidding war.
The UK’s most expensive beach hut was sold in July last year after receiving offers of £330,000 following an intense bidding war
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
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.
Four potential buyers put in offers on the 12ft by 10ft hut – two of them without even viewing it.
The final sale price smashed the record amount paid for a beach hut on the exclusive sandy peninsula.
The surge in beach hut popularity comes as staycation bookings have risen by 136 per cent for May compared to the same time before the pandemic, an expert has revealed.
Matt Fox, CEO and Founder of Rest Easy Group, said there was a ‘stark increase’ in demand for cottages, particularly in Cornwall and Devon, for the May bank holiday weekend this year compared to 2019.
Meanwhile, the EU is expected to sign off on plans for Britons who have had both jabs to fly to Europe without having to quarantine or take a Covid test.
The European Union’s new plan would see member states adopting uniform entry requirements, meaning vaccinated holidaymakers from low-risk countries – such as the UK – would be able to enter France, Spain, Italy and other hotspots.
Britain will be included on an EU expanded ‘green list’ of permitted holiday travel on Wednesday as the bloc’s ambassadors are set to confirm a European Commission proposal lift restrictions on well-vaccinated nations, it is understood.