Rare buy: Burraga Island for sale

A private sanctuary is up for grabs with a 122ha island in NSW’s south coast being listed for sale, with the freehold site ripe for development.

Burraga Island, a 122ha exclusive island on the NSW south coast has hit the market, offering buyers a rare opportunity to create diverse development pursuits, from a theme park to an ecotourism venture or an 18-hole golf course.

The privately-owned Burraga Island in Nowra – positioned on the Shoalhaven River – is freehold land and allows for a multitude of uses thanks to its RU1 primary production zoning.

The island is being sold via an Expressions of Interest campaign through a Colliers International team comprising Steam Leung, Joseph Lin, Simon Kersten and Taleah Thomas. 

The privately owned Burraga Island offers its new owners an array of development opportunity options. Picture: realcommercial.com.au

Mr Kersten said the unique offering had resulted in a slew of solid enquiries from “far and wide” in the few days it had been listed for sale. 

“It’s very fertile grazing land. At the moment there is a number of cattle on there for a number of different people,” he said. 

“Parts of the land are definitely lower and more flood-prone than others. It’s got a raised house on it and also has a raised farm shed on it.” 

After owning the island for just over a decade, the development company selling it was considering creating a golf course and a draft plan was in place, Mr Kersten said.

“But for me personally, (it’s great) just as a lovely place to live. You don’t need fences because you’ve got a river all the way around you,” he said.

Without taking into account the sheer size of Burraga Island, farms in the region have been selling for anywhere from $5 to $10 million, Mr Kersten said.

 “We don’t really want to prejudice it with a price or a target. The owners are genuine sellers and they are prepared to meet the market,” he said.

 “But it’s not your typical resort location.

“I think this is a very private retreat for a high net worth individual who wants total seclusion and serenity, or someone who has a dream to do ecotourism or cabins with a really different theme,” he said.

Proximity to Sydney is a strong drawcard

The island is a 40-minute drive to Nowra Airport and it is located two hours from Sydney. 

“Owning an island two hours from Sydney is like a dream come true for many people who wish to be the new king or queen of the island,” Joint selling agent Joseph Lin said.

“The successful landlord, the future ‘monarch-to-be’ can decide to keep the tranquil character of the land or to host tourists after the development.”

Access to the island is via a 24-hour access barge, with a loading capacity of 48 tonnes.

The island is being offered for sale via an Expressions of Interest campaign which closes October 20.

The island’s single-level home has four bedrooms, and there is also a dock, power supply, telephone and broadband connection, as well as an on-site sewer system.

 Island life in a thriving region

The region of Nowra has been one of the best performing regions in all of Australia over the last few years, according to PropTrack economist Anne Flaherty. 

 Ms Flaherty said Nowra was an area with a lot of amenities:

“I think that one of the things about the region is we’ve seen the residential market really take off but at the same time we are also seeing tourism perform very strongly in the region,” she said.

“So within that area, you’ve got the river that attracts a lot of people. Even things like caravan parks are in high demand in that area, so you do get a lot of domestic tourism and people from Sydney travelling down.

 “So I think it’s [Burraga Island] going to appeal to kind of a broad range of potential buyers – from people looking for potential opportunities for residential to ecotourism.”