By Orana Durney-Benson
For just over $500,000, you could buy a house with breathtaking sea views.
But there’s a catch – the house may not be here in 10 years.
The home is perched on the edge of a cliff.Credit: Zillow
On Whidbey Island in the US state of Washington, a three-bedroom weatherboard house has hit the market for $US325,000 ($507,000).
The hexagonal house is perched on the edge of a sheer 60-metre cliff, in an area which is notoriously subject to erosion.
In 2013, a huge chunk of cliff slid into the ocean on Whidbey Island, forcing 34 families to evacuate.
Local geologists estimate the cliffs are eroding by 8.5 centimetres a year, a number that could rise to 21 centimetres a year by 2100 due to climate change.
The clifftops are prone to erosion.Credit: Zillow
At $US325,000, the hexagon house in Oak Harbor, Whidbey Island, is well below the town’s median listing price of $US525,000.
Despite the discount, the house has been on the market for nearly three months without a buyer.
The sea views are knockout, but the home may not be there in the long term.Credit: Zillow
When it was first built in the 1970s, the clifftop house would have been a pleasant family home.
Three big picture windows look out over the Pacific Ocean, where the hazy silhouette of distant islands can be seen across the water.
On chilly mornings, the clifftop is shrouded in a cloud of fog, giving the line of houses an eerie quality.
Inside the house is a large kitchen with timber cabinets, an open fireplace with a stone surround, and two bathrooms.
Weathered blue-painted decking around the perimeter of the house hints at what the garden would once have looked like, before it was swallowed with sand.
The property is for sale with Kerry McGhie from real estate agency John L. Scott Arlington.
In the listing, she warns that “all viewings MUST BE with [a] licensed realtor” and advises buyers to “use extreme caution when walking around the property”.
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