With Discovery Channel's summertime epic Shark Week kicking off on Sunday, it is only appropriate to hunt down five of the finest houses for shark-obsessed home buyers. The first stop is one of the few houses on the Atlantic side of Truro, Mass., near the tip of Cape Cod, where a body boarder was recently bitten by a presumed great white. This hilltop cottage, a well-preserved relic built in 1899 and grandfathered into what is now the Cape Cod National Seashore, enjoys a supreme elevated vantage point, perfect for spotting dorsal fins in the surf below. The 2,000-square-foot house has classically Cape Cod casual interiors with exposed wood galore, a wood stove, four bedrooms, and just 1.5 baths. The price does not reflect the home's modesty so much as its rarity, at a sticker-shock inducing $2.6M.
? This glassy midcentury cottage lies on the dunes of Stinson Beach, Calif., just south of Bolinas, which sees a regular influx of sharks during the summer months. In 2002, a surfer here was attacked by a great white shark that may have measured as long as 15 feet. So...put away the surfboards and break out the binoculars to spot the giant seaborne predators from the floor-to-ceiling windows of this five-bedroom, 3.5-bath beach house. Listed for $4.795M, the home also enjoys unobstructed views of Bolinas Bay, out back.
? Located directly in the path of sharks following their migratory prey, California's Catalina Island gets a few sightings every year and, ever so rarely, a close encounter. This hillside home, perched above the island's main town of Avalon, offers sweeping views of the sea beyond, while keeping all the fins and teeth at a safe distance. The simple interiors of the stilted, three-bed, three-bath cottage belie the high price tag of $2.4M.
? Atlantic coast shark sightings aren't limited to the Northeast, far from it. Florida is the East Seaboard's most popular shark spotting stop, thanks to its consistently warm waters. This June, a surfer was bitten in the foot off of New Smyrna Beach, Fla., which is where we find our next property, a $790K beachfront bunker. Bunker? Yes, the concrete structure looks like it was built to withstand the area's frequent hurricanes, though the storm surge probably has a good chance of flooding the place anyway. The lower price of this four-bed, three-bath shark spotting station means there might actually be some money left over for that "bigger boat."
? The next owner of this grandiose seaside residence in Myrtle Beach, S.C. might end up hoping for a storm surge, once the place is insured, to wipe out the hideous interiors. On the bright side, for sharkaphiles anyway, the beach was the scene of a literal "feeding frenzy," where Blacktip sharks nibbled on at least four swimmers in a single incident. Then again, you'd have to be pretty committed to this whole shark watching thing to take on a project of this magnitude and cost. The seven-bed, 5.5-bath mansion, with shark tank-sized swimming pool is currently listed for $4.6M.
· 118 N Pamet Rd [Zillow]
· 214 Seadrift Road [Zillow]
· 11 Crescent Avenue [Zillow]
· 903 N Atlantic Ave [Zillow]
· 3404 N Ocean Blvd [Zillow]