The ‘world’s best beach hut’ in Somerset is on sale for £160,000
A beach hut in England dubbed the ‘world’s best’ has been listed for sale – with bidding starting at £160,000.
The award-winning hut is being sold by owners who say it has been "fully booked" for several years by holiday-makers seeking a luxury coastal retreat.
Owner Brett Bates insisted they were looking for "at least £160,000" and revealed there has already been a lot of interest in the hut, located in Dunster, Somerset.
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The renovated hut offers underfloor heating, an ensuite with shower, glamorous king size bed, and a fully equipped kitchen including dishwasher, cooker and a fridge.
There is also a lounge and dining area, front and back fenced gardens with seating, sun loungers and bike racks.
Bordering Exmoor National Park and the Somerset coast, Bates first purchased the hut in 2015 before renovating it.
"It’s been quite a journey we’ve had. From purchasing in 2015, doing a ground-up refurbishment, being awarded five stars by Visit England, through to winning numerous awards including Self-Catering Business of the Year in South West England and Visit England Dog-Friendly Business of the Year amongst many, many others,” Bates said.
"It's been so much fun having guests either rediscovering or finding Dunster Beach for the first time, but it’s time for us to move on to a new project now," he added. "Someone has the opportunity to buy into a ready-made beach hut at Dunster. It has a fantastic reputation and has been featured in many publications over the last few years and even described as the best beach hut in the world by one."
The new owners will be able to continue the successful self-catering business, known as Salad Days, or just have their own perfect escape by the beach – ready to move straight into.
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An open day was planned in July when Covid safe viewings can take place.
Beach huts are hot commodities at the moment as Yahoo UK reported this week that the simple abodes have seen a 41% price hike in 2021 compared to last year.
The average price of a beach hut now sits at around £36,034, hotel booking platform Hoo says. In some areas like Mudeford in Dorset, a hut was sold for £325,000.
"The prospect of another summer of staycations has seen beach hut sale prices soar," the Hoo report said.
Hoo co-founder Adrian Murdock added that demand for the beach huts is “pushing up prices”.
"A 41% uplift in the last year alone is pretty considerable although as with any property investment, location is key when it comes to both the price achieved and the property’s rental potential,” he added.
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Earlier this year, a colourful candy-striped beach hut in Thorpe Bay, Essex was listed for a cool £70,000.
Unlike the aforementioned Salad Days hut, this one-room seafront hut is no bigger than a garden shed and has a small kitchenette, sitting bench and a dining area.
In January, a beach hut in Frinton-on-Sea in Essex was listed for £65,000.
At the time, a spokesperson for Rouse Estate Agents said: "About 18 months ago, one of the huts at the Wailings end of the beach sold for £52,000.
"We've also had a couple of other huts in that area sell for around £45,000 in recent years - the prices are just going up and up."
Additional reporting by SWNS.
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