Riftún: an 81-hectare geothermal estate in Iceland with an approved lagoon plan

Riftún is an 81.1-hectare (200-acre) estate in Ölfus, South Iceland, about 30 minutes by car from Reykjavík. It is for sale at USD 3,300,000 with approved detailed plans for a geothermal bathing lagoon of up to 2,500 m², about 17,100 m² of greenhouse or commercial buildings, a tourism plot and 12 plots for holiday homes and houses. The land lies on a documented low-temperature geothermal system and has cold-water springs.

Riftún is on Þorlákshafnarvegur (road 38) in the municipality of Ölfus, about 7 km south-west of Hveragerði and about 13 km north of the port town of Þorlákshöfn. The land runs from the lava cliffs above the road, across meadows, down to the wetlands and the Varmá river. Approximate coordinates: 63.955° N, 21.271° W.

The asking price is USD 3,300,000 for the whole estate, about ISK 400 million at October 2026 exchange rates. The price is fixed and the property is sold as is, with its approved plans and the geothermal and water rights that belong to the land. The seller is open to discussing the sale of individual parcels.

The registered owner of all three parcels is 101 Atvinnuhúsnæði ehf., an Icelandic private limited company that has owned Riftún since 2013. Its board is chaired by Franz Jezorski. The property is marketed by Baldur Jezorski, licensed real estate agent, who is a shareholder in the seller together with his siblings. This relationship is disclosed to every prospective buyer.

Riftún consists of three registered parcels: Riftún (29.8 ha) above the road, with the farmhouse and the holiday-home and house plots; Riftún 3 (9.3 ha) below the road, where the lagoon, greenhouses and tourism plots are planned; and Riftún 4 (42.0 ha), the wetlands and river frontage further south, most of which lies in a flood-hazard area and is not planned for building.

To our knowledge, yes. We are not aware of any other land on the open market in Iceland with a detailed plan in force that permits a geothermal bathing lagoon. Other lagoon projects exist, but they are held by their developers rather than offered for sale. Getting the Riftún plans approved took from 2016 to 2022, which is the time a buyer saves.

Yes. The Riftún parcel has a 173 m² house built in 1965, with a fire-insurance value of ISK 74.9 million (about USD 610,000) in the 2026 property register; its condition should be inspected. There is also an old geothermal borehole, RT-1, near the house. The land below the road is undeveloped.

The seller prefers to sell the estate as a whole, but the sale of individual parcels can be discussed. This matters in particular for buyers from outside the EEA, who can usually acquire up to 25 hectares for business use, and for buyers interested only in the 9.3-hectare lagoon and greenhouse parcel (Riftún 3).

Yes. The detailed plan for Riftún 3 was approved by the Ölfus Municipal Council on 25 May 2022 and published in the B-section of the Official Gazette as no. 726/2022 on 20 June 2022, which put it into force. The master plan amendment that changed just over 9 hectares from agricultural land to commercial and service area V21, for tourism including greenhouse cultivation and a bathing lagoon, was published as B 535/2022.

B 726/2022 · B 535/2022

Plot B (19,260 m²) allows a bathing lagoon and hot tubs of up to 2,500 m² in surface area and 2,500 m³ in volume, with concrete floor and walls, plus buildings for changing rooms and services at a site coverage ratio of 0.1 (about 1,926 m²) and up to 7.5 m high. For comparison, the bathing lagoon at Mývatn Nature Baths was planned at about 2,000 m², and the new Reykjaböð lagoon in Hveragerði is about 900 m².

Plot A is 34,200 m² with a site coverage ratio of 0.5, which allows roughly 17,100 m² of buildings for horticulture, retail or services, up to 7.5 m high. That is enough for a commercial greenhouse operation, a greenhouse restaurant or food hall, or a combination, next to the lagoon.

Plot C is 9,505 m² and is intended for visitor activities such as horse rental. Its site coverage ratio is 0.1, so about 950 m² can be built. Earlier listing text described this as 9,500 m² for tourism; that figure is the plot area, not the building area.

At least 100 parking spaces and 3 coach spaces (plot D), a shared access with the neighbouring plot so no new road connection is added, a waste enclosure (plot E), shared wastewater treatment, downward-facing external lighting, and bathing facilities of class A under Regulation 814/2010 with dechlorinated outflow to a settling pond. Houses may be one or two storeys with pitched or flat roofs.

The detailed plan above the road (B 506/2025) provides 12 plots: the published notice describes 9 holiday-home plots and 3 house plots. Under the plan terms, holiday-home plots of 5,000 to 10,670 m² may carry up to 500 m² each, including a guest house of up to 80 m²; house plots may carry up to 1,000 m², including a garage, guest house and store. Buildings are one storey plus a usable attic, up to 7.9 m high.

B 506/2025

Yes. The only business activity the plan above the road permits is the rental of holiday homes, so a cabin-rental operation fits the plan. Commercial accommodation in Iceland needs an operating licence from the district commissioner and the health authority, which the operator applies for once the houses are built.

Not under the current plans. An earlier version included a hotel, but it was dropped before the 2022 approval. A hotel would require a plan amendment through Ölfus municipality. The municipality has generally supported developments that create jobs, and the seller is willing to help a buyer present a revised concept, but approval cannot be guaranteed.

Riftún 4 is not covered by a detailed plan and most of it lies within the flood-hazard zone along the Varmá river, so it is not intended for building. Its value is in the river frontage, the wetlands and bird life, riding and walking trails, and the geothermal zone where hot springs reached the surface until about 1980. The planned geothermal well shown on the approved plan lies just below the lagoon plot.

An existing 66 kV line crosses the land below the road and the master plan reserves a route for a planned 220 kV line. Building and tree planting are not allowed inside their protection zones, which the approved plan already accounts for. The seller is not aware of any compensation arrangements attached to the lines. Above the road there are recorded archaeological sites with protection zones of 15 or 100 metres; below the road the survey found none.

Yes. A borehole drilled at Riftún in 1969 to 1970 struck water hotter than 50 °C at 305 to 336 m depth. Hot springs of up to 80 °C stood on the Bakki and Riftún boundary, and up to 97 °C just east of the Riftún and Þóroddsstaðir boundary, until production by the local district heating utility began around 1980. ÍSOR concluded that a hot strip clearly extends right across the Riftún property.

In all nearby wells the temperature exceeds 120 °C at 600 to 800 m depth, and the two wells nearest Riftún reached 125 °C. ÍSOR concluded that a water system of up to 125 °C may be found below 600 to 800 m at Riftún, with the yield depending on intersecting permeable fissures. The seller expects water of about 110 to 130 °C at 800 to 1,200 m, but only drilling can confirm it.

That is not known until a well is drilled. ÍSOR and the National Energy Authority estimate that the Bakki, Riftún and Þóroddsstaðir system as a whole could support more than 100 l/s at about 120 °C, of which the utility Veitur already produces about 38 l/s. Individual wells nearby yield roughly 8 to 15 l/s. No study quantifies the output of a well on Riftún itself, and more than one well may be needed.

EFLA modelled lagoon size against hot-water supply in design winter conditions (minus 10 °C, 10 m/s wind). Pro rata, a 2,500 m² lagoon would need roughly 89 l/s of 100 °C water or about 69 l/s at 120 °C. Real demand depends on design, shelter, depth and water temperature. That is more than a typical single well in the area produces, so a buyer should plan for several wells, a phased lagoon or cascaded use of the heat.

Veitur, the utility owned by Reykjavík Energy, supplies Þorlákshöfn from well BA-01 on Bakki, about 500 m from Riftún, and well HJ-01, about 1 km away, and supplies rural Ölfus from well EB-01. Its transmission main to Þorlákshöfn can carry about 100 l/s since an upgrade in 2017 to 2018. ÍSOR notes that a new well could interact with the pressure in BA-1, so drilling and testing should include monitoring of nearby wells.

Under Icelandic law, Act 57/1998, the landowner owns the geothermal resources beneath private land, subject to research and utilisation permits; Article 27 deals with resources that extend under several properties. Past discussions between the seller and Veitur about compensation for the shared resource did not reach agreement. To the seller's knowledge Veitur has not objected in principle to drilling at Riftún for use at Riftún. The correspondence is available in due diligence.

A development permit (framkvæmdaleyfi) from Ölfus municipality for research drilling, a research permit (rannsóknarleyfi) and later a utilisation permit (nýtingarleyfi) from the Environment and Energy Agency (Umhverfis- og orkustofnun), which took over these duties from Orkustofnun on 1 January 2025. Ölfus granted a permit in January 2020 for three research wells of 800 to 1,500 m; it was not used and must be renewed. The seller will assist with the applications.

ÍSOR described two options: a shallow well of about 400 m near the old borehole above the road, which would need a pump, or a deep well of 800 to 1,000 m in the marsh below the road near the former hot springs, with casing to about 200 m, which has a better chance of reaching the 120 °C system. The approved plan marks a planned hot-water well just below the lagoon plot. The access road and drilling pad will need substantial fill.

The cost depends on depth, diameter, casing, the drilling rig and the ground conditions, and the drilling pad and access road in the marsh add to it. The seller obtained contractor quotations for 1,000 and 1,200 m wells at Riftún; these are included in the document pack, and the seller can request updated quotations for a buyer. Budget also for geological advice, well testing and a pump.

No. The seller has not drilled since ÍSOR's 2016 study and does not plan to; that is left to the buyer, who can make the purchase conditional on the results. The old borehole RT-1 dates from 1970. ÍSOR suggested it could be repaired to give up to about 4 l/s of water above 50 °C, which could serve hot tubs or the houses above the road.

Riftún lies in the South Iceland seismic zone. A hot spring at Riftún disappeared in an earthquake in 1947, and well BA-1 dropped out briefly in 1998 but was unaffected in 2008. Buildings in Iceland are designed to seismic codes and insured through the compulsory natural catastrophe insurance. Riftún is not on the Reykjanes peninsula, where eruptions since 2023 have repeatedly closed the Blue Lagoon.

The only measurement on Riftún itself is 32.5 l/s from two springs on the Riftún side of the Bakki boundary, at 4.1 to 4.2 °C, measured on 4 August 1986. The Ölfus master plan states that the spring areas at Riftún, Þóroddsstaðir and Vötn together yield more than 100 l/s. There are no recent measurements, and a buyer can carry out pumping or flow tests during the inspection period.

Neighbouring fish-fry stations use water from the same aquifer for fish at their most vulnerable stage, which indicates good quality, and the plans provide drinking water from a new borehole on the land. Ölfus already has a bottled-water plant at Hlíðarendi that exports Icelandic spring water. Bottling at Riftún would need laboratory testing and food-safety permits; no tests have been made for that purpose.

If hot water is cooled only by mixing with cold water, the volume is large: EFLA's model needed about 360 l/s of 5 °C water for a 2,800 m² lagoon at 100 l/s of 100 °C water. Most designs reduce this by cooling through heat exchangers or by using the heat first, for example in greenhouses on plot A, before the water reaches the lagoon. An engineering study of the water balance is recommended.

The water rights within Riftún belong to the land, subject to applicable law and permits, including Act 57/1998 on resources in the ground. Large-scale extraction, bottling or export would require the relevant permits, and use near the utility's wells may require consultation.

About 30 minutes by car from the Reykjavík capital area, about 40 minutes from Reykjavík city centre and about 1 hour from Keflavík International Airport. Hveragerði is about 7 km away, Selfoss about 20 km and the port of Þorlákshöfn about 13 km.

Riftún is a few minutes off the main route from Reykjavík to the Golden Circle and the South Coast. Nearby are Hveragerði with the Reykjadalur hot-river hike and greenhouses, the new Reykjaböð lagoon (opened September 2026), the Raufarhólshellir lava tube, Selfoss, and the black-sand beaches near Þorlákshöfn. Most of Iceland's visitors stay in or near Reykjavík, within an hour's drive.

Below the road, the neighbours on both sides are land-based fish-farming stations; above the road there is holiday-home development at Þóroddsstaðir; and the utility Veitur has production wells on Bakki. Ölfus has about 2,900 residents and is growing, with major land-based salmon farms under construction in Þorlákshöfn.

Access is from road 38. The plan below the road uses a shared connection with the neighbouring plot, and the Road Administration (Vegagerðin) limits new connections onto main roads; the seller suggests seeking more direct access with the municipality's support. Electricity comes from the RARIK grid. Cold water is from the land's own borehole, wastewater goes to on-site treatment, and hot water would come from the buyer's well.

The approved plans support a geothermal bathing lagoon and spa, greenhouses for food production or a greenhouse restaurant, horse riding and visitor activities, and holiday homes for rent above the road. The cold-water springs could support bottled water or supply to neighbouring aquaculture, subject to permits. Heat can be used in cascade: greenhouses first, then the lagoon.

Well-located lagoons have performed strongly, though not without risk. The Blue Lagoon had revenue of about USD 157 million (EUR 140 million) and EBITDA of USD 44 million in 2023, then a net loss in 2024 when volcanic eruptions closed it for 71 days. Iceland had 18 commercial lagoons in 2025 and the sector is consolidating. Results depend on location, design, pricing and operations, so a business plan for Riftún should be built on its own numbers.

Iceland's lagoon business: revenue, profit and prices

The seller proposes: an online meeting and review of documents; a site visit with a meeting at Ölfus municipality; agreement on the principal terms of a purchase and sale agreement (PSA); an inspection and due-diligence period of about 90 to 120 days; permitting and drilling preparation; drilling and testing over about 4 to 8 months; then the buyer decides and the sale closes. The whole process typically takes 12 to 18 months.

Yes. The seller is open to a purchase agreement that becomes unconditional only if the drilling results are satisfactory to the buyer, in the buyer's sole discretion. There are no predefined flow or temperature thresholds; instead there is a clear decision deadline after the final drilling and test report, and a long-stop date of around 18 months from signing.

The buyer pays for its own technical investigations, consultants, drilling preparation, drilling and testing. The seller provides the existing data, signs the landowner documents needed for permits, assists with applications and is willing to cover the municipal application for research drilling. The property is priced as is, without drilling.

The deposit is negotiable. The seller prefers agreed milestones and real progress on the investigation programme over a large upfront deposit. If a deposit is agreed, a modest amount could be paid on signing, credited against the price at closing and refundable if the buyer terminates within the inspection period under the agreed terms.

Yes. Site visits can be arranged at short notice, and the seller recommends combining the first visit with a meeting at Ölfus municipality to present the buyer's concept. Drone footage and aerial photographs are available for a first remote review.

English translations of the ÍSOR and EFLA studies, the 2019 property summary and both detailed plans; the Icelandic originals; AutoCAD files of boundaries, contours and the site plan; property register extracts for all three parcels; the 2020 drilling permit; drilling contractor quotations; and drone footage. Registry certificates showing encumbrances are being obtained. Request the information pack through the form on this page.

Stamp duty is charged on the official property valuation, which for the three parcels totals ISK 57.7 million in 2026: 0.8% for an individual (about ISK 0.46 million, USD 3,800) or 1.6% for a company (about ISK 0.92 million, USD 7,600). Add registration fees of a few thousand krónur per document, legal and technical advice, and the buyer's own investigation and drilling costs.

Citizens and companies of the EEA (EU, Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein) and Switzerland can buy on the same terms as Icelanders by signing a short EEA declaration. Buyers from outside the EEA, such as the USA, UK, China or the Gulf states, need a permit from the Ministry of Justice, which for business use can cover up to 25 hectares. We help non-EEA buyers find a compliant structure.

Foreign ownership rules in Iceland

Common routes are: buying the 9.3-hectare lagoon parcel (Riftún 3) through an operating company with a business-use permit; partnering with an EEA or Icelandic investor who holds the land while the non-EEA partner invests in the operating company; or acquiring through an operating company established in an EEA country with real substance. Each route needs Icelandic legal advice, and nominee arrangements to get around the rules are not acceptable.

Act 84/2026 on the screening of foreign investment takes effect on 1 January 2027 and requires notification of investments in sensitive sectors, including energy, district heating, water and critical infrastructure. Real estate as such is not screened, but an investor planning large-scale hot-water supply to third parties should check whether the project falls within its scope.

Icelandic bank financing for non-residents is limited, so most foreign buyers fund the land with equity. Once a project is permitted and the resource confirmed, Icelandic banks and pension-fund-backed investors are active in tourism real estate and may finance or co-invest in the operating business. The Central Bank policy rate was 8.0% in October 2026.