A 7.2-acre waterfront property in Maryland seems to have it all with a brand-new house, a private beach and spectacular views. The only catch is that whoever buys the place will need a small boat to get there.
The house on Dobbins Island in the Magothy River, close to the Chesapeake Bay, was built in 2019, but no one’s ever lived in it. The owners chose to move into a house on another island, according to Brad Kappel of TTR Sotheby’s International Realty, who has listed the property for $2.7 million. The house offers 3,373 square feet of finished space.
The island sits about three-quarters of a mile offshore, far enough that the house makes more sense as a vacation retreat than as a place to commute from, Kappel said in an interview. Annapolis, the state capital, is about a half-hour drive away.
“There’s nothing practical or convenient about it,” he said. “But when you’re on the island and see the sunrise and sunset, the migratory birds, all these things you don’t get with a traditional waterfront property, that’s the real appeal.”
Kappel describes the house as “coastal contemporary” with a lot of glass and tall ceilings to maximize the views and stone columns. The three-bedroom house also has a flat roof with elevator access; the owners thought it would be nice to install outdoor-friendly furniture there.
“When you’re up there, the views are spectacular looking out toward the Chesapeake Bay,” he said.
Perched on a high point near one end of the island, the house has a distinctly rectangular shape. That’s largely because the builder had to set the house back some distance from the island’s edges. The island is much longer than it is wide; it could take about 10 minutes to walk through the woods to the other end, Kappel said.
At that end, on the side of the island more protected from the wind, lies a beach with a line of posts running through the middle. The posts identify the high-water line that separates the island, which is private property, from the public waters of the river. Kappel said that for many years, boaters have congregated on a sandbar during the summer months that appears near the island at low tide.
Whoever buys the property has first dibs on also purchasing a 2.5-acre waterfront lot that looks out at the island for $700,000. Whether or not they do, the island’s buyer will have deeded access to an onshore boat ramp and parking area. The island itself has a dock in 8 feet of water, deep enough for larger boats or a kayak if the owners prefer a simpler mode of transportation.
“I think the real value here is time, if people’s time is their most valuable commodity, to be able to buy an island with a somewhat new home and not have to take a number of years to get it built,” Kappel said.