By Emily Power
Morawa in regional Western Australia has had no claim to fame, until now. The auction of a $2000 house in the small town is one of Australia’s cheapest-ever property sales.
The uninhabitable clanger on 1012 square metres – with an “enter at own risk” sign at the front – was successfully auctioned in October by agent Tony Maddox, and settled late last month.
The Morawa home sold for $2000.Credit: Tony Maddox Real Estate
It has rusted gutters and roofing, asbestos, collapsed ceilings and provides the ideal nest for breeding rodents, a Shire of Morawa notice, provided with the listing, warns.
The transaction for 44 Grove Street, in a country hall on a weekday in October, looks to have made Aussie property history. Never before has someone bought a dwelling at an auction for as little.
A local man was the winning bidder, Maddox says, and will embark on a renovation.
In his 35 years selling property, Maddox has never done – or seen – a deal this modest. A property in the mining town of Kambalda for $7000 was the closest to this extremely frugal outcome.
The home needs a renovation.Credit: Tony Maddox Real Estate
Maddox says it was one of three houses auctioned that day in Morawa, a North Midlands town about 370 kilometres north of Perth, including a $25,000 shop and residence, and a “trashed” transportable home on Dreghorn Street that fetched $28,500.
“That was bargain stuff,” Maddox says. “And the last one of all was this bloody one in Grove Street.”
He opened bidding at $5000 and dropped it to $1000 to entice participation.
Only cash buyers were eligible.Credit: Tony Maddox Real Estate
“I could not get a bid at all – I said, ‘guys, it’s a house, it needs some work I must admit, but it is a house’,” Maddox laughs.
“A bloke who had a bid on Dreghorn Street said ‘I’ll give you $2000’. I looked over at the CEO of the Shire and he said, “yeah, let it go, Tone’.”
There was no reserve, so he happily dropped the hammer.
There is not much precise data on records at the lower end of the market, where results can be volatile if reported incorrectly to collection sources. But it is near impossible to unearth anything that has sold for less.
Maddox, who regularly deals in remote dwellings selling for some of the lowest sums in Australia, has certainly never seen a price like this.
A house in Melbourne’s Braybrook was sold by the state sheriff in 2012 for $1000, but the aggrieved owner fought the sale in the Supreme Court and it was overturned.
The deposit of 10 per cent for the Morawa aberration required little more than a trip to the ATM.
Cash settlement was a condition, so buyers needing finance were ineligible. This is common practice with council-run arrears sales.
Maddox, a Toodyay-based agent, specialises in auctions for councils throughout WA who have been forced to send homes under the hammer to settle unpaid rates.
A sign warned buyers to enter at their own risk.Credit: Tony Maddox Real Estate
He is retiring at the start of January after selling his business to a staff member, but will continue as an auctioneer.
One of the properties auctioned at the town hall, the double shopfront and residence in the main street, was bought by a young mum with five children.
“It is a great thing for the school and the community – it is just a great result,” he says.
These sorts of sales, working in communities from Kalgoorlie to Kambalda, Coolgardie and beyond, is the element of the profession that has brought Maddox much joy.
“What you see is what you get with me, and you become part of the furniture,” Maddox says. “The best thing about real estate, the thing I love so much, the thing I’ll miss so much, is those vendors who come up and give you a big hug and say, ‘thanks so much, Tone’.”