THE skewed nature of the property market in Britain has been amply demonstrated in the last few days with a beautiful 13-acre island off Scotland’s West Coast going on sale for almost half the price of a parking space in London.
Eilean Nan Gabhar, the Island of Goats, is set in the waters of Loch Craignish at Old Poltalloch, Lochgilphead. It has attracted considerable attention even though it has no buildings, no electricity, no running water and can only be reached by sea.
The asking price in the sale being conducted by Galbraith Group is “offers over” £120,000.
By contrast, the OnTheMarket.com website is currently listing a parking space in a underground garage at One Hyde Park, Knightsbridge, at £200,000, and estate agents say the price could reach the £250,000 mark.
Even that would not match the most expensive single parking space sale in UK history, which was advertised at £350,000 in 2016 for a site measuring 19.5ft by 8ft.
If Eilean Nan Gabhar was to be sold at the same “per square foot” rate as that parking space, the asking price would be £900 million.
A Scottish property agent who is not connected to the sale of the island told The National: “The market for pieces of Scotland is strong, especially when you consider that runaway property prices in London make owning your own bit of Scotland seem very affordable.”
Eilean Nan Gabhar may not be able to take any cars for parking or any other reason, but it does have a sheltered anchorage and the possibility of a pontoon being constructed.
The island also has ancient woodland, some grassland, plenty of gorse and impressive rock formations, though sadly no wild goats which were thought to be the reason for its name.
Owned by the same family for 70 years, the island is described as 440m long and 180m wide, and it has a rough footpath leading north to south.
Galbraith say the island has numerous species of trees and wild flowers including rowan, willow, beech, bog myrtle, hawthorn, wild garlic and honeysuckle and “offers a stunning landscape to explore and from which to watch the wildlife it attracts... fishing is also possible from its coast and numerous bays”.
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