Scott Radley: Hamilton lot for sale, right across from West Harbour GO station. Asking price? $1

The lot for sale is directly across the street from the West Harbour GO station, just a couple minutes walk from Bayfront Park and not far from the soon-to-be-built film production studios. In real estate, where everything is location, location, location," this sounds just about perfect.

The sure-to-be zany asking price for this potential gem?

One dollar.

That's not a typo. One dollar. Canadian. And no, there's nothing wrong with it.

We launched the listing two weeks ago and we've got a tremendous amount of activity," says agent Sam Hall of the property at 41 Stuart St. I think we've got about 50 people that have reached out for additional information."

Wait, just 50? For a $1 property? With all the talk about soaring real estate prices in this city, this sounds like the greatest bargain ever. Shouldn't there be more like 10,000 people jumping on this? Or everyone in the entire city?

Alas, as you've surely guessed, there's a catch.

First, the 129-by-120-foot lot on the southwest corner of Stuart and MacNab Street North (that currently includes a building first constructed in 1869 but altered since then) is zoned for a 10-storey condo development rather than a single-family home. Building such a thing isn't cheap or uncomplicated. That limits the number of people who might be intrigued. Second - and here comes the pin that'll burst some peoples' bubble - it won't sell for a buck. Obviously.

Hall says unpricing" it (that's the term he uses) just leaves the door open for buyers to figure what they think it's worth and put their best, most-aggressive foot forward.

The price strategy is just to not limit upside," he explains. I don't want to put a ceiling on what people will pay."

The Toronto-based agent for Colliers International is anticipating something in the $4-million range once offers begin getting accepted on March 10. He's not keeping that a secret from potential buyers. Despite the eye-catching list price, he's giving them some guidance when they reach out.

I don't want to waste someone's time if they're not a buyer at that range," he says.

We've seen this selling strategy before in Hamilton. Five years ago, an east-end home went on the market for a dollar and ended up selling for $290,000 after receiving a ton of interest and numerous offers.

But it doesn't happen often. And not every agent is a fan of the concept.

Local agent Rob Golfi says he's seen it used maybe half a dozen times in the past decade around here, but wouldn't recommend it to one of his clients. While it could lead to an ambitious bid that exceeds even what the seller might hope, not having a solid benchmark could also frighten some off or bring in offers below what might otherwise arrive.

It's a scary game to play," he says.

That said, he acknowledges this property is in an attractive up-and-coming area and he does expect many developers will take a long look.

Hall says the transit-oriented" property is approved for up to 76 units in almost 95,000 square feet. There would also be a two-level underground parking garage. The listing points out it's close to GO, the waterfront, parks, restaurants and other amenities.

There were plans to build a condo there back in 2014 but those were abandoned. It was only in June that zoning issues were resolved.

Doug Robbins was the previous owner and had been behind that earlier condo plan. He says he had an environmental study done when he bought the property in 1991 to be sure everything was OK with the land and soil.

It's clean," he says.

So all seems fine. Which brings us back to the one-dollar asking price.

Not only has Hall used it before but he says there's no real risk involved since the owner isn't forced to sell if the offers come in below what's expected or acceptable.

Buyers know the drill," he says. This is how you bid on sites. And it's successful."

And with this location, with the way the local market is scorching these days and with the interest he's already received from developers here in town and even from Toronto, he's confident it'll work.

I hope so," he says.

Scott Radley is a Hamilton-based columnist at The Spectator. Reach him via email: sradley@thespec.com