Beach huts in UK resort no bigger than sheds for £200,000 | UK | News

The seaside resort of Southwold is such a popular place to own property that even its beach huts sell for up to £200,000.

This summer, Express.co.uk visited this picturesque holiday spot where visitors were able to marvel at Southwold’s “old-fashioned seaside atmosphere”.

Peter and Marion Hollister, aged 80 and 74 respectively, decided to pop into the picturesque town on their way back to Brighton for the “nostalgia” it exudes. Peter first visited in 1963.

Their sense that Southwold is moving in another era was shared by almost every local and visitor this website spoke to, none more so than Monica Gerhold, 77.

Sitting in her rented beach hut as her family played on the sand below, she beamed: “Everyone seems family-oriented. There’s not a lot of trash. We’re quite happy to leave the door open; there’s hardly any crime.”

Like Peter and Marion, Monica agreed that the town was “just like it used to be” in the rest of the UK.

Referring to her white beach hut, which has the message ‘take your time’ written on it, Monica said: ‘We rent this one. We’ve had it for three years and it’s absolutely lovely. But most beach huts are just passed down through the generations. They cost about £100,000 these days. You’d have to be very rich. [to buy one].”

Monica was right that only the rich can afford to buy Southwold’s beach huts, but she was only partly right when she said that potential buyers needed £100,000 to own one.

Express.co.uk spoke to two different local estate agents, neither of whom wished to be named, and each revealed that the log cabins, which are “about the size of a small summer house”, are selling for between £70,000 and £200,000.

One of the estate agents, located a few hundred yards from the seafront, said: “In 2022 we sold a beach hut on North Beach and that for £85,000.

“Beach Hut 100, so that’s on North Parade – that was completed in 2021 for £175,000… one that was sold on Gun Hill… we sold one there in 2021 for £200,000.”

Despite the high prices, the cabins are not well equipped.

“Some of them are bigger than others. They can vary,” the agent explained. “They usually have a small veranda with double doors. They’re about the size of a small summer house, I suppose. You can’t sleep in them at night. They don’t have water or electricity.”

The other estate agent, who is further inland on the High Street, acknowledged that the sheds were compact. “They’re not much bigger than a garden shed, to be honest,” she said. “The ones at Gun Hill anyway… some of them are tiny.”

Despite the exorbitant prices, the cabins are selling like hotcakes, says the waterfront real estate agent: “There is demand. We usually do sealed bids.”

Just like beach huts, residential and holiday properties are also offered at more than reasonable prices.

Asked about her cheapest properties, the High Street estate agent said: “I have a one-bedroom flat [at] £285,000. One at £295,000. I have a two-bedroom flat at £450,000.

“You wouldn’t expect anything to sell in Southwold for less than £275,000.”

His most expensive item? “The biggest one we sold was for £2.8m last year. It was a big deal.” You don’t say.