Dorset beach hut sells for record £325,000 as staycation boom leads to surge in demand

Beach hut prices have soared amid the coronavirus staycation boom, an estate agent said, with one selling for around £325,000.

Denisons, an estate agent in Dorset, said the sale was a record for the sought after huts at Mudeford Spit, in Christchurch Harbour, and it is around the same price as a five-bedroom house in Hull.

The hut is just 12ft by 10ft and attracted offers from four potential buyers, two without even viewing it.

Andy Denison, of Denisons, said: "The demand for the beach huts at Mudeford is the highest I have ever known it right now. It has gone crazy.”

He said the rise in Staycations was behind the surge in interest, with more people considering a trip closer to home during the pandemic.

"People are throwing in the towel on foreign holidays this year, they are very wary of them,” he said.

"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."

Data from analysts Kantar suggested that just under a third of people are considering a staycation this summer, almost double the 16 per cent who are considering holidaying abroad.

There are 360 huts, all of which are privately owned, on the spit which cannot be reached by car.

It is fully fitted with a chemical toilet, a small kitchen and a bed which can sleep four people, although overnight stays are only allowed between March and October.

Owners would have to pay annual rates to the council of about £4,500 a year.