Many people are buying a private island. But it’s not just the super-rich, as an island often costs less than an apartment in Zurich or Geneva.
A penthouse in Manhattan, a villa on the Côte d’Azur or a chalet in the Swiss mountains – for a long time, such properties were considered status symbols of the ultra-rich.
Broader group of buyers
However, a new trend has emerged in recent years: the private island as the ultimate form of retreat and expression of exclusivity.
What used to be reserved for monarchs, film stars and tech billionaires is now also within reach for a broader range of people.
“You can get something nice for 100,000 euros,” said Farhad Vladi, a real estate consultant specializing in islands, in the weekend edition of the German Handelsblatt newspaper.
Small house on a football pitch
If the island is also to be built on, meaning that buyers could move in immediately, prices would start at 400,000 euros, explained the 80-year-old, who has been brokering islands for over 50 years and, with Vladi Private Islands, has built up a specialized company with over 40 employees worldwide as well as an archive of around 12,000 islands.
The prices are mainly determined by the location. An island of several hectares with a villa, pool and jetty can cost millions.
“But there are also plenty of islands in Sweden or Canada that are about the size of a football pitch, with a small house and a simple mooring for boats, that cost no more than half a million euros,” explained the real estate agent.
These are prices far below condominiums in Zurich, Geneva or Lucerne.
Boat moorings are important
80 percent of the world’s islands are state-owned and are rarely privatized.
Of the 20 percent that could be considered at all and are usually transferred to private ownership via a ‘right of residence’ and there must be some topsoil and a right to build, the Hamburg real estate expert continued.
“A boulder in the sea doesn’t do anyone any good,” Vladi emphasized. It should at least be possible to moor a boat.
Nature lovers without neighbors
Half of his customers come from Germany, Austria and Switzerland.
The rest come from other European countries, the USA and occasionally from Japan or China.
“Most people who are interested in an island are nature and freedom lovers and individualists,” the estate agent clarified.
They appreciate the advantage of having no neighbors on an island. However, he only deals in countries where foreigners have unrestricted ownership rights.
10 percent increase in value
Since it has become possible to have stable internet on an island via satellite, popularity has increased, as many owners now also spend part of their everyday life on their private island.
After corona, the demand for private islands increased.
Owning your own island could even be an investment.
“The average increase in value is around ten percent per year,” he said.
It is emphatically higher on Long Island, off Venice, or at other popular locations where there are only a few islands. Islands are also interesting as rental properties.
“I see many people who have rented through us as buyers again,” said one of the very few real estate specialists in the world for such special properties.
Location, location, location, even for jewels
However, anyone interested in islands should make sure that a private island is easy to reach.
Most islands are therefore no more than 5 kilometers from any mainland.
If an island is much further out, the journey and supplies will be expensive, as you need a plane or helicopter or spend a lot of time on a boat, emphasized Vladi, who sold his first island in the Seychelles – by chance in 1971 – and has now sold over 3,000 islands worldwide.
Lifechanging events
Furthermore, islands usually only come onto the market because of the ‘three Ds’ or if an owner needs a change of scenery, for example from Brittany to the Caribbean.
Vladi used the ‘three Ds’ to refer to “Death”, i.e. the death of the owner, “Divorce” and/or “Debts”.
However, the first “D” is the most common, whereby the heirs usually cannot agree on what to do with a private island and so they just sell it, according to the 80-year-old island broker.
20.07.2025/kut./ena.
