A real rarity has just come onto the property market here, a plot of land on the edge of Poole Harbour, the fourth most expensive area to buy in the world. Check this from the Telegraph online:
Plot on millionaires’ row worth £4m
By Rosie Murray-West, Business Correspondent
Last Updated: 2:24am BST 03/04/2007
A piece of wasteland next to football manager Harry Redknapp’s home is up for sale for £4.5 million, it emerged last night.
The strip of land at Sandbanks, Dorset, is suitable for a 8,000-square foot house.
It was sold in April 2005 with a house attached. Now that the home has been bulldozed, the land is worth even more - making the owner a £2.1 million profit in just two years. advertisement
Francis Payne, estate agent for Tailor Made Properties, who is selling the property, said: “We have sold perfectly good houses to developers who then demolish them and build new ones,” he said.
Sandbanks has views across to The Needles and the Isle of Wight. It has become a millionaires’ playground and celebrity residents include Mr Redknapp.
However, Mr Payne said most of the residents were people such as company chairmen who enjoyed the peace and quiet of the area.
“They like to get a bag of chips and walk along the beach when the business pressure is off,” he said.
Mr Payne said that the beachside area is popular because it is unspoilt.
“There are no fairgrounds, no bingo and there is access to Dorset wilderness. You can have the Bournemouth nightlife and the wilderness as well.”
Just one or two properties along the seafront come onto the market every year, and Mr Payne said there is always a waiting list.
The estate agency is also selling a run-down house for £4 million. The property sold for £2.7 million 14 months ago and has been put back on the market in exactly the same condition.
The property, built in the 1970s, has planning permission for a new owner to knock it down and build a 7,000-square foot home.
“It’s naff really. But the buyer will knock it down and build something new,” Mr Payne said. Yorkdale Properties bought the house just over a year ago. While many developers spend thousands on a project, all Yorkdale has done is secure permission for the building to be knocked down and for something else to be built in its place.
“It’s an easy way to make money,” Mr Payne said. The plans were accepted in January this year and are for a six-bedroom house with indoor pool, cinema and gym.
Once planning was in place, the owners put the property back on the market and said they would sell it as seen for £4 million.
Yorklake has already turned down a £3.5 million offer for the site.
The estate agent advertises the plot thus:
Sandbanks
£4,500,000.00
Guide Price £4.5 million.
You have seen the publicity and the excitement generated by land with direct water frontage. Well here is the opportunity to buy a plot of land on Sandbanks most affluent road.
This very deep plot fronts the entrance of this magnificent harbour. Views are to Brownsea Island, the Shell Bay sand dunes and the Dorset heathland.
The site has planning approval for a contemporary style home of nearly 8,000 sq ft
This is an opportunity to purchase this unique location and place your mark on what will be one of the grand designs of the Sandbanks peninsula.
Sandbanks is located within approximately 2 hours of London’s M25 and just over 40 minutes from Southampton. We are aware of at least 4 local residents who fly in and out of Hurn airport from the Midlands and Scotland.
With the predicted lifestyle migration south over the next 10 years we anticipate that an investment in Sandbanks will not only be a lifestyle choice but an astute financial decision.
Everyone wants to buy on the coast, in the 8 years I have been in my current locale dozens of large Victorian family homes with sizeable gardens have been knocked down and blocks of 7-12 flats put in their place. These properties typically have allocatd parking spaces and the increase in vehicles (usually two per flat) mean that the infrstructure is groaning. A common problem which gets worse as summer comes and everyone comes to hit the beach!