Church buildings for sale at $15k

PHOTO: This church building in Corowa is for sale at $15,000. Source: Supplied

Old churches are hitting the market for as low as $15,000 and are being billed as opportunities for buyers to resurrect the old buildings into unusual homes.

If you are looking for some divine inspiration in your house hunting then there’s possibly an unusual solution for you — one of several former churches dotted across the NSW countryside.

These abandoned houses of God are on the market for as low as $15,000 and are being billed as opportunities for buyers to resurrect the old buildings into unusual homes.

Many have retained their steeples, cavernous interiors and other hallmarks of history but require work and creative thinking to convert them into habitable properties.

Country churches available for sale include the old St Columba Church on the outskirts of Goulburn.

The church built in 1930 will go to auction in February with $300,000-$400,000 expectations and includes a very healthy 4000 sqm of land.

This Spring Ridge church is for sale at $140,000. Source: Supplied

Selling agent Peter Reardon of Nutrien Harcourts said the church shut its doors more than 20 years ago because it wasn’t attracting enough parishioners to keep open.

This was common for country churches, as rural churchgoers tended to prefer attending services in bigger regional centres, Mr Reardon said.

“Country churches are a dying breed, most are shutting down,” Mr Reardon said, adding the buildings often had an afterlife as popular listings on short-term rental sites such as Airbnb.

“Having a quirky listing on Airbnb does help attract more interest,” he said.

“There are also city buyers who are looking for a permanent weekend lifestyle (retreat) … we are expecting a lot of interest and the inquiries haven’t stopped since it was listed.”