Buyers Snap Up Boscombe Beach Pods

When I heard that Bournemouth Council was launching a retro-styled ‘beach pod’ development in Boscombe (designed by Wayne Hemingway) I had my doubts.

The beach pods are basically beach huts in Overstrand, a restored 1950s building – and who, in this market (who in their right mind!), would  fork out £65-90,000 for a place with a 25-year lease that they can’t even sleep in?

Surely, I mused, the beach hut boom has gone the way of the housing boom and been washed away in a squall of dire financial weather?

Well, it appears not. Five hundred people registered ahead of the launch on May 15th and a hundred of them turned up on the day, chequebooks at the ready.

“We launched 12 doubles, 20 singles and four end pods on the day and sold all the doubles,” says Glynn Evans of Savill’s Bournemouth office.  “We weren’t sure how it would go, but it was a great success.”

Who bought them? “A real mixture – a local family with kids, celebrities from London, a retired couple, a surfing couple from Sandbanks,” says Glynn.

Could this be another of those green shoots of recovery we keep hearing about? Aren’t beach huts a bellwether for the market as a whole?

“Not really,” says Glynn. “These are not really comparable to residential purchases. They’re a cash buy and are not dependent on mortgage finance.  They don’t really stack up as an investment – they’re more of a luxury purchase.”

Maybe so, but with Boscombe undergoing major regeneration, the current buyers might have a very lucrative last laugh. Consider the downturn officially over when you start reading about Boscombe beach pods being resold for more than £100k.

Fancy one? Contact Glynn Evans, Savills, Bournemouth. Tel: 01202 255552

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