Newly released figures from Hoo have highlighted the effect that this is having on beach huts, with the hotel room offer platform revealing that while rental prices have fallen by -4.1% due to continued lockdown restrictions, the price being paid for beach huts has surged by 41% in the last year.
The firm analysed the beach hut property market looking at both the asking price of sale stock advertised, as well as the cost of renting a beach hut in five popular staycation locations.
According to the research, the average daily rate of renting a beach hut sits at £52, a -4.1% drop when compared to the cost of renting last year.
Bournemouth sits at the more affordable end of the beach hut rental market, with an average daily rate of £26 per day, with neighbouring Sandbanks (£28) and Southwold in Suffolk (£28) also coming in at the lower end where rental costs are concerned.
Whitstable in Kent is slightly less affordable at £50 per day, while Mudeford in Dorset tops the list as the most expensive beach hut rental hotspot at £130 per day.
To put this cost into perspective, the average daily rate of a hotel currently sits at £64 and even in London, this climbs to just £113. If you were to rent a beach hut in Mudeford for a month, you would be looking at a rental cost of £3,639 which is even more expensive than the average rent in Kensington and Chelsea (£2,977).
Hoo also analysed the asking price of beach huts currently listed for sale on the market and how this compares to a year ago.
While lockdown restrictions have hampered the beach hut rental market, the prospect of another summer of staycations has seen beach hut sale prices soar.
At present, a beach hut purchase will cost you £36,034 on average, a 41% jump on last year. However, in some areas, they can set you back considerably more, with three beach huts in Mudeford currently sold subject to contract at an asking price of £325,000.
Adrian Murdock, Hoo Co-founder, commented: “With a great deal of uncertainty remaining around what we can and can’t do this summer, there has been an understandable wobble in the cost of renting a beach hut. That said, beach hut rental prices remain robust and with another summer of staycations on the cards, they’re likely to climb considerably over the coming months.
"It also seems as though demand for beach huts is pushing up prices as holidaymakers invest in their own piece of beach hut bricks and mortar. 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.”
