Beach hut values fall for second consecutive year
The latest research from Yopa has found that beach hut prices have fallen for the second consecutive year across the UK’s most sought-after coastal locations, as the extraordinary growth seen in the years immediately following the pandemic continues to unwind.
Yopa analysed the average asking price of beach huts across eight of the UK’s most popular coastal counties and found that the average value has fallen by 9.8% over the last year, following a 19.6% decline the previous year.
However, despite this recent market correction, beach hut values remain 7% higher than they were in 2022, highlighting that many owners who bought before the post-pandemic boom have still seen a positive return on their investment.
The research shows that beach hut prices surged by 37.1% in the year following the final Covid lockdown, before climbing by a further 7.9% a year later as demand for coastal lifestyle purchases remained exceptionally strong.
Since then, however, the market has cooled considerably, with the average value of a beach hut across these sought-after locations down by 9.8% versus this time last year, having already tanked by 19.6% on the year prior to that.
West Sussex has seen the largest annual decline in beach hut asking prices, with values falling by 35.1% over the last year alone. Norfolk has seen the second largest reduction (-13.0%), followed by Essex (-12.2%) and Hampshire (-12.0%).
Kent has seen prices fall by 5.5%, whilst East Sussex has recorded a more modest decline of 2.9%.
Only Dorset and Suffolk have bucked the wider trend over the last year, with average beach hut values increasing by 2.8% and 6.6% respectively.
Dorset also continues to boast the strongest long-term market performance, with beach hut values sitting 71% above their 2022 average. West Sussex has also seen substantial five-year growth of 31%, whilst Essex (15%) and East Sussex (14%) remain comfortably above where they stood before the market accelerated.
Only Norfolk (-29%), Hampshire (-10%) and Suffolk (-8%) currently sit below their 2022 average asking prices.
Verona Frankish, CEO of Yopa, commented:
“The beach hut market experienced the same surge in demand that we saw across the wider housing market in the wake of the pandemic, as buyers placed far greater value on lifestyle purchases and making the most of the UK’s coastline.
Whilst demand for beach huts remains strong, they’re ultimately a discretionary purchase and, with confidence across the wider property market remaining somewhat subdued, it’s no surprise that we’ve seen values ease over the last couple of years.
That doesn’t mean the market has lost its appeal. In fact, values remain higher than they were before the post-pandemic boom, meaning many owners have still enjoyed healthy long-term growth.
For buyers, however, the recent correction presents an opportunity. After two years of falling prices across much of the market, there is far better value available today than there has been for some time, making it an attractive point to invest ahead of the next phase of the market cycle.”
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