Private island near Canberra listed for cheaper than city's median house price

A private island 90 minutes from Canberra has been given an official $600,000 to $650,000 price guide after failing to sell at recent auction.

The 91 hectare island is priced less than Canberra's $727,000 median house price.

Wade Island on Lake Burrinjuck, beside the historic village of Wee Jasper, last sold for $485,000.

Its only inhabitants currently are the wildlife, mostly kangaroos and wallabies.

Wade Island comes with approval for self-sufficient holiday cabins.

It can only be accessed by a land bridge - and only when they water is low.

Despite the lure of island life, sales campaigns for private islands typically can take years to complete.

There's the Port Stephen's Garden Island which sold six years after its initial listing.

Back in 2012 it was asking $6 million, before being advertised last April with $4 million hopes.

This was reduced to $2.75 million before its recent sale through McGrath Terrigal's Adrian Culpin.

The 1.4 hectare island was mostly overgrown when traded for $480,000 in 2001.

Award winning architect Philip Pratt was commissioned to design a home with a mix of Australian rural architecture and Japanese Modular design.