PHOTO: A man walks past a derelict home, which sold for A$1.6 million, in Sydney’s northwest in Australia June 23, 2021. REUTERS/Swati Pandey
SYDNEY, June 23 (Reuters) – Sydney houses with crumbling walls, shredded ceilings, and bathrooms and kitchens stripped of fixtures are getting snapped up for millions as buyers try to grab a slice of Australia’s soaring property market.
Last week, a derelict brick cottage in the city’s northwest sold for A$1.6 million ($1.20 million), a price the real estate agent handling the deal said was “much more than we were expecting”.
Photos on the property agent’s website showed torn carpets, tattered roll-up blinds and a grime-caked kitchen.
“(The buyers) are individuals who wanted to live in this part of Sydney and are looking to knock down the property and rebuild,” McGrath sales agent Michael Dowling told Reuters.
Despite the condition of the house, they were attracted by the nearly 500 sq m (5,382 sq ft) of land, he said.
“More supply is coming into the market but there is still heaps of demand.”
In another desirable suburb in Sydney’s southeast, an abandoned house with no water supply or power connection went this month for A$4.7 million.
Property agents said they expected to see more such sales in Australia’s A$8.3 trillion housing market. Home prices nationally have surged 10.6% from a year ago driven by record low borrowing rates, tax incentives and solid employment growth.
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