The dark reason why houses in this beach town are selling for $60,000

A weatherboard cottage in an idyllic English seaside town has hit the market for the price of a sedan. 

But there is a catch – the house might not be here in a year’s time. 

The beach shack is perched on a sandy cliff in the small Norfolk town of Hemsby. 

It’s one of several properties listed for sale on a long clifftop road called The Marrams that runs parallel to the North Sea. 

An outsider stumbling across property listings for The Marrams might be baffled by the unusually low prices. 

Last year, a cottage on the street reportedly sold for under £10,000 ($20,500). 

The holiday shacks currently up for sale are just a fraction higher, with prices ranging from £30,000 to £60,000 ($61,000 to $123,000). 

But take a stroll along the beach and the reason for the rock-bottom prices will quickly become clear.

The sandy bluffs are littered with debris from houses that have been swallowed by the sea.

Bricks, electrical cables and fence palings are half-buried in the sand. 

This stretch of the English coast is notorious for erosion. 

Since the 1970s, it’s estimated that over 300 metres of Hemsby’s coastline has been lost.

More than 25 homes have been lost in the past 10 years alone. Some homes fell into the sea, while others were demolished by order of the council. 

Many uninsured homeowners state they never received compensation. 

Dozens more properties have been identified by Great Yarmouth Borough Council as being at imminent risk. 

A group of local residents have formed an action group called Save Hemsby Coastline to raise awareness about coastal erosion and aid people who have lost their homes. 

Each of the three properties for sale in The Marrams has a disclaimer at the bottom of the listing that reads: “All buyers are advised to do their own due diligence with their solicitor and surveyor in regards to environmental changes in the area.”