Bahamas: Private island, listed at $19.5 million, set to go up for auction in late March
NASSAU, Bahamas -- What's better than having your own luxury resort in the Bahamas? Owning your own private island in the Bahamas.
Little Ragged Island, also known as St Andrew's, is the largest private island currently for sale in the Caribbean paradise.
We're talking 730 acres of rolling forested hills and pristine white beaches, surrounded by warm blue ocean. It is, to be frank, a deep-pocketed developer's dream.
This isolated wonderland is connected to the rest of the world by a 10-minute boat ride to nearby Ragged Island, where a private airstrip awaits. But if you prefer to arrive by superyacht -- because that's just the kind of high-living baller you are -- there's also deep water access for large ships.
There are freshwater ponds, snorkeling and sailing opportunities, excellent flats for fishing, and you can also chill on the beach and watch flamingos.
Grouper, snapper, barracuda, tuna and kingfish swim the reefs, while the woods are rich in lignum vitae trees, known for their medicinal properties.
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If you prefer to climb a hill and survey with satisfaction the full richness of your domain, the elevation rises from sea level to 40 feet.
As for development opportunities, there's enough space to build a boutique resort with 18-hole golf course, or if you're an evil criminal mastermind, you could create a really high-end Bond villain lair.
Little Ragged is on sale through Concierge Auctions, a US real estate company that auctions properties to the highest bidder and claims a client list that includes a few names you might just have heard of, such as Cher and Michael Jordan.
The company also handled the most expensive US home to ever hit the auction block, so if you're hoping to swing some kind of bargain on this, you'd best keep scrolling through Zillow.
To join in the bidding, you need to stump up a $100,000 deposit, but there's no reserve price. It's listed at $19.5 million, but there is no minimum bid or expected minimum bid.
"We have received a great amount of interest in the auction so far, which is expected for this is a one-of-a-kind opportunity," Laura Brady, co-founder and CEO of Concierge Auctions, tells CNN Travel. "We are confident that the Concierge Auctions platform will bring an unmatched reach to global buyers throughout the auction process."
Private virtual viewings are available online. Bidding opens March 26, 2021 and closes March 31.
If you miss out on this opportunity, the Blue Estate Group recently unveiled plans for the man-made Blue Estate Island close to the Bahamas, where property prices start at $19,800 and rise to over $1 billion.
A number of island brokers have reported a huge spike in demand for private islands in the wake of Covid-19, with one telling the New York Times in October that he'd had his busiest two months in over 20 years.
