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Comment by DivingForGold | Hacker News Reader

I read these properties are actually some of the most expensive properties in The Netherlands ($ million dollar).

But no electricity (need generator) and you cannot drive your car to your lakehouse.

Plus, I bet the mosquitos are horrible, it is a former swamp.

There is electricity now, but it's quite new. Before that ours used to run on solar + batteries, you don't want a noisy generator in the middle of a nature area. A holiday home doesn't need that much electricity, warm water and heating use gas.

Prices are typical for this side of the country.

I was gonna say the same about the mosquitos. Also, the mosquito-borne diseases in Europe are increasing and one definitely don't wanna catch dengue fever

Easily over a million for the ones without neighbors. The most expensive one was listed for 13 million.

These are holiday homes for wealthy elites in Amsterdam. You either go there straight from Amsterdam by helicopter or you have a chauffeur drive/boat you there. These people don’t drive themselves.

But probably not for long with non-primary real estate being taxed at 2.2% a year.

> The most expensive one was listed for 13 million.

This one [1]? It's a huge villa (not on an island) plus 2 islands for that price, so not really comparable.

I found a more representative example of an island with a house that is currently for sale [2]. It is listed for €1.5 million.

[1] https://www.quotenet.nl/vastgoed/qasteel/a62799798/joop-drec... [2] https://www.funda.nl/detail/koop/loosdrecht/huis-drecht-16/4...

Found another one at 8 million and is on an island:

https://www.quotenet.nl/vastgoed/qasteel/a62814634/luxueus-p...

This was in 2024 so likely valued around 9 million by now.

The home you listed at Funda comes in at €42000 per square meter which is unheard of for The Netherlands. Not even Amsterdam Center comes close. These homes are one of the most expensive pieces of real estate in the country.

Note that for the second, that's not really a house, it's a boat (woonboot). It floats. The page lists the legal requirements for any replacement boat new owners may want to put there.

According to the description, that second one is connected to water, electricity and sewage, so that answers that question. No need for a septic tank.

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