A BEACH hut has gone on the market for a staggering £480,000 - and it doesn't even face the sea.
The timber chalet at Mudeford has been owned by the same family since the 1950s when they bought it for a mere £400.
Over the past 25 years the value of the 16ft by 13ft huts on the remote sandbank have soared in value.
Several generations of the family have enjoyed endless summers there but they have now decided to sell it for 1,200 times what they paid for it.
The reason the hut can command the same price as some four-bedroom houses in many parts of the country is due to the isolated position the island-like sandy spit.
There are 360 huts at Mudeford, with some facing the sea and others, like this one, looking over Christchurch Harbour.
The huts have no running water or mains electricity, and toilets and washing facilities are in a communal block.
Hut 106 has 12v lighting and a fridge freezer powered by solar panels on the roof. It has a Calor gas cooker and a camping toilet.
It can sleep up to seven people from April through to October in the converted lounge area and on a mezzanine level.
Andy Denison, from Denisons estate agents, said: "This is a good-sized hut that fronts onto the harbour with a westerly aspect so you get the sunsets.
"It's a great spot to sit and watch the world go by, the boats going in and out of the harbour.
"The harbour-side is also great for small children because you can keep an eye on them playing on the foreshore and if you're into paddleboarding or windsurfing you can keep your equipment right in front of you and its more protected from the sea.
"There are people who don't think badly to paying £400,000 for a beach hut. The market has levelled since the times of Covid and staycations but people still like that lifestyle you get there."
In 2002 beach huts at Mudeford sold for £73,000 but the following year one broke the six-figure mark for the first time. By 2014 they were selling for as much as £270,000 and four years later they hit the £300,000 mark.
The record price paid for one was £575,000 in September 2021, off the back of the Covid pandemic and the rise in staycationers.
The land the huts are on is owned by BCP Council and 'hutters' pay for the right to have a hut on a plot.
Hut 106 comes with a council licence fee of £3,000 a year. The sellers will also have to pay a £25,000 transfer fee to the council.
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