Disbelief over hut's 'crazy' $350k price tag: 'Disgraceful'
While Australia has seen a meteoric spike in the price of property during the pandemic, it's not the only country to experience a soaring rise.
UK house prices grew at their fastest rate in 18 years last month, and the median house price has grown a whopping 14.3 per cent in the past 12 months.
And one property listing that epitomises the relentless rise is, well, not even a home at all.
Listed at £200,000 ($350,000), a beach hut sandwiched among others on a sand dune in northern Wales is proof the property market has gone mad.
It's located in the quaint village of Abersoch, a hotbed for English tourists in the summer months.
And while the golden beach is one of Wales's most popular, with a vast range of water sports on offer, the hut itself has limited selling points. For starters, it doesn't have a water or electricity supply.
There is no path or road access and no stairs from the beach, however it does boast a deck with impressive views over the bay.
Regular visitor Patricia, who owns a home in the village, told Yahoo News Australia the huts along the beach have been hot property for years and are a must-have for the elite visiting each summer.
"It's a crazy price for a wooden hut but if people want to spend their money on that it's up to them," she said.
The hut is valued at more than the average house price in the county of Gwynedd, according to data shared in February by the North Wales Chronicle, which Patricia called "disgraceful".
Welsh government's attempts to slow the market
Prices in the area have surged in recent years, fuelled by second home owners purchasing holiday dwellings.
And while the economy is booming in the summer for the Abersoch area, it has left a lasting impact on the local Welsh community. For instance, a lack of pupils has led to the closure of the village's primary school.
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In a bid to combat soaring prices, which the government says is pricing locals out of the area, there are plans to charge second home owners a 300 per cent premium on council tax across the country. Second home owners in Gwynedd already pay a 100 per cent premium.
Jonathan Martin, a spokesman for the Home Owners of Wales Group, told the BBC the proposal was "morally indefensible".
Patricia says if the tax hike gets the green light, she will likely sell her two-bedroom terrace home in the village.
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