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In Australia’s real estate market, $1.1 million will get you an “unlivable shack” that “must be demolished.”
According to a report from Insider, a property with that description in the Sydney suburb of Mona Vale sold for just shy of 1.6 million Australian dollars this month — equivalent to $1.1 million U.S. dollars — and attracted multiple bidders.
“The house is falling down, but what an opportunity to design and build your dream architectural home in one of the northern beach’s most sought-after locations,” a listing description for the property reads. “Offering 18m frontage and more than 1000 sqm of land with water views across McCarrs Creek to Ku-ring-gai national park, this large perfectly positioned block of land is one of the best blocks available on the market and it’s priced to sell.”
The home on the property has three bedrooms but isn’t livable, because it has been left abandoned for some time and has become derelict and dangerous. The property was sold at land value, Juliet Wills, the listing agent from LJ Hooker Mona Vale, told Insider.
Wills said the property attracted five bidders and was originally listed for AU$1.2 million, with the winning bid eventually going to a buyer who currently lives in the “inner suburb of Sydney and wanted a change of lifestyle.”
Housing prices in Australia rose for the second straight month during April, according to Bloomberg but are down 8 percent annually with the exception of cities like Adelaide and Perth, according to ABC News.
Australians, who mostly live in and around the three major cities of Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne have been forced to contend with increasingly high housing prices as the country’s population continues to surge, at about 25.69 million according to the latest census, while the number of available houses stalls.
The Australian government has sought to calm its housing crisis with a slew of measures, including tax breaks to incentivize investors to build badly needed rental housing, but experts contend further steps are needed.
The Mona Vale property isn’t the only pricey teardown in Australia that has drawn attention lately. On May 18 a “dilapidated” home in the Sydney suburb of Paddington sold for AU$1.53 million, according to news.com.au. There were 10 bidders for the house, which was deemed “too dangerous” for inspection.
