An island of one's own

  • 2007-08-08
  • By TBT staff and wire reports
Private jets and motor yachts are so last month. This season's must-have fashion accessory is a personal island, it seems.

According to the Lietuvos Rytas newspaper's home supplement, the 4.8 hectare island of Linusita in the Baltic Sea near the island of Saaremaa is on the market for a mere 159,000 euros.

If that's not impressive enough, in Latvia, the asking price for a 3.2 hectare island and a 185 hectare land plot between lakes Razna and Zuosna is around 875,000 euros.

Igor Stepanov, the executive director of Latvian realty company Palace said that it is not the first island his company has sold. They have already sold three islands in three years' time.

"Lake islands attract rich Latvian bankers, business people. Their new toy is farms of wild animals - deer, moose. Islands offer excellent places for them to graze," the real estate expert said.

Rein Nettan, a manager at real estate agency Reval Kinnisvara of Tallinn said that small private islands in the Baltic Sea are an exclusive item that mainly appeal to Swedes, Finns and well-off Estonians.

Bargain hunters should head for Estonia where an island of 3.14 hectares on Lake Saociai is up for grabs. At just 87,000 euros it's a cheap way to join the likes of Richard Branson, Ted Turner and Bill Gates in the exclusive island owners' club.