April's average asking price of a house in Britain has leapt to £327,797 according to the latest figures, a 2.1% monthly jump from the same number in March — equating to an average increase of £6,733.
Yet the rise may not be quite what it seems: the data comes from number crunchers at online property portal Rightmove, who also suggest that a relative dearth of new properties on the market is behind the increase. Many are putting off selling their house until they've been vaccinated against Covid-19, and while all over-45s are now being offered the jab, tens of millions — who will most likely be first-and second-time-buyers — are yet to get one of the jabs.
Many of the first-time buyers in that bracket will also be unaffected by the end of the Stamp Duty holiday in June, since first-time buyers in England will continue to be exempt from Stamp Duty up to £300,000. As ever with the property market, there are more questions than answers about how things will shake out in the next six months.
One area in which there is no equivocation about soaring prices is perhaps the smallest niche of the whole property market: beach huts. Research by a hotel booking service called Hoo suggest that the average asking price for a beach hut in Britain has shot up from £25,578 to £36,034 in the past year — a rise of 41%.
The company also picks out the example of a beach hut in Mudeford, a few miles along the coast from Bournemouth, where a beach hut has just sold for £325,000.
An outlandish price to be sure, though it does at least theoretically sleep six; we came across another hut nearby that's decided garden-shed-like in proportions with a price tag of £55,000. That's in line with what you'll pay in places such as Whitstable — we found this one on the market for £50,000.
If you're looking for something further north, however, this hut in Norfolk, at Hunstanton, is just £21,000, and while the sea defences rob it of the views, the beach here is huge, beautiful and sandy.
The beach hut at Hunstanton is for sale at £21,000 — beach hut at Hunstanton is for sale at £21,000 or enquire with the agent for the details.
Credit: Strutt and Parker
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