Property prices have gone crazy across the world over the past year but surely this is a new – quite literal – low: people are selling blocks of underwater land.
In Ontario, Canada, a sprawling 7.7-hectare plot has hit the market for the seemingly bargain price of $CAD99,000 ($107,610).
However, it is entirely covered by the waters of Lake Erie.
The listing says: “This property is presently underwater but could have endless possibilities in the future.”
It’s dream real estate for Ariel from The Little Mermaid, but for the rest of us without fins, what do you do with a property that is actually – seriously – under the sea?
The listing has the answer: “Be creative.”
Bizarrely, it’s not the only underwater property available to purchase right now. If you’d rather live a subaqueous life in the United States than in Canada (possibly a warmer option?) there is a plot for sale in San Francisco asking $US75,000 ($102,193).
Set on half a hectare of tidal land, the vacant block is located east of Candlestick Point, underneath the famous San Francisco Bay.
The listing reads: “Seller is not sure if this tide land can be developed into a yacht harbor (sic), houseboat park, a pier or anything at all. Land is underwater.”
ABC7 News interviewed the seller, real estate agent Trent Zhu, who purchased the underwater land from the City of San Francisco for less than $US5000 around six years ago.
Zhu told ABC7 he had seen the possibility of a pier or sports stadium going up on the water.
“It’s owning a piece of San Francisco, and buy into the future,” he said.
The real estate listing also says: “San Francisco has a rich history of waterfront development. Much of the Marina District started off as water plots before 1915.”