A private island just off the coast of Tasmania has been listed for sale again, the fourth time it has been on the market in four years.

Ninth Island is 1.3 kilometres long and 550 metres wide, and about 12 kilometres from the north-east coast of Tasmania.

Its owner Peter Huang, from Yong Real Estate, is listing it with an asking price of $1.98 million, up from its $1.68 million price tag at the end of 2016, the last time it did not sell.

While there are about 5000 islands around the coast of Tasmania, Ninth Island was one of only nine that were freehold, Mr Huang said.

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“It is arguably the cheapest freehold island in all of Australia,” Mr Huang said. “It’s one of the most secure investments, and most affordable. It’s got a great history and a great location.”

The 16-hectare island is mostly vacant land, with a small fishing shack. There is currently no jetty and is only accessible via helicopter from the mainland.

It is also known as a paradise for local wildlife, including penguins and native birds. The Ninth Island Conservation Area was recently formed on the island, and it is also part of the Important Bird Area.

An agent’s map showing the location of the island.

“It has the best view of any island,” Mr Huang said. “Most of the islands are full of trees that block it so it looks like living in a forest. There aren’t very many tall trees here so you have a 360-degree view from anywhere. It’s a breathtaking view.”

The island was sold by Kreglinger Australia, which also owns the Ninth Island winery on the Tasmanian mainland, in early 2015 reportedly for $300,000 in “special circumstances”. It was then passed in at auction for $1.19 million in July 2015, before being reported to have been sold for more than $1.2 million in March 2016.

But this deal fell through and the island was again listed for sale in late 2016, this time with an asking price of $1.68 million. After failing to secure a buyer, Mr Huang has now put Ninth Island back on the market.

Despite the increased asking price, he said it was still a bargain for an entire island.

“It’s so affordable,” he said. “It can be just a private person buying it for a private island, just like Richard Branson. Or if you want to have a bigger plan you could develop it into an ecotourism thing.

“Any apartment or townhouse, you can have an unlimited number of them, but 100 years later and there will still only be nine freehold islands in Tasmania. It’s very rare stock and the value will continue to grow.

“There’s no other land like this in Tasmania. You’d have to wait for many, many years to get this chance ever again.”

The nearby Waterhouse Island was sold for $5.5 million in 2016 to a Singaporean businessman who said he planned to develop an ecotourism venture.

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