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How Much Is the World’s Abandoned Property Worth?

Compare the Market reveal an interactive graphic analysing wasted spaces to highlight potential property gold mines.

Posted: 27th November 2018 by
Finance Monthly
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If you owned land with the potential to rake in almost 900 million dollars, you would snap up the opportunity to make that eye-watering amount of cash… wouldn’t you? Compare the Market have conducted their analysis of wasted spaces around the world to reveal the countries and locations that are sitting on unused land, and letting the profits slip through their fingers.

Top 5 Countries Wasting Millions of Dollars on Property Potential

Ever considered venturing into the world of property development? It can be risky, but when the profits are this mind-bogglingly high, it can also be worth it. The Wasted Spaces study reveals the Housing

top five locations around the world with the potential to make the most cash if the owner, or countries, were to build houses on the land to sell on.

By analysing the cost of housing per square metre in each country, Compare the Market reveal the true figures to be made by selling property on these wasted spaces:

Rank Location Venue Value of land housing ($)
1 Germany, Berlin 1936 Olympic Village $895,060,771.20
2 Kolmanskop, Namibia Kolmanskop $551,279,400.00
3 Zurich, Switzerland Hardturm Stadium $108,669,387.08
4 Nara, Japan Nara Dreamland $101,216,115.00
5 Malmo, Sweden Malmo Stadion $80,973,225.00

How Many Homes Could Be Created?

  • The largest abandoned sports space, the 1936 Olympic Village, was built 82 years ago and remains disused. In that time, 1,600 homes could have been built on the land to house generations of families and 5,322 individuals at any given time
  • Kolmanskop, a ghost town in Namibia is 989,384 square metres with enough space for 5,000 houses - meaning over 15,000 people could be housed
  • Japan’s Nara Dreamland was left abandoned in 2006, and its eerie remains were demolished ten years later. The remaining space could have been used to build around 650 homes - housing around 1,257 people
  • Malmo Stadion in Sweden is 60,288 square metres equating to around 8 football pitches. The now vacant space could house 807 people in 250 homes
  • The Houston Astrodome, also the world’s first multi-purpose domed stadium, is now partially demolished but has the potential for 165 homes, housing 774 people

Country’s Debt

Germany tops the list as the country with the most amount of abandoned locations on the Wasted Spaces list. But, as the country with the fourth largest external debt - if they sold all of the land of wasted buildings they own in this study, they would have $994.3 million.

The US has the second highest amount of abandoned places on the list including Houston Astrodome, Pontiac Silverdome, Michigan Central Station, and Sterick Building. The total combined price of the land these derelict buildings are sitting on is $51.5 million -  out of their total external debt figure of $21 trillion.

With the ninth largest economy in the world, Brazil is renowned for their growing economy, they also have an excessive amount of debt. The country has one property on the wasted spaces list; the Olympic Aquatic Centre that is 13,269 square metres and an estimated land housing value of $14.8 million.

(Source: Compare the Market)

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