Victoria’s cheapest home sales revealed: Where houses sold for as little as $29,000

The cheapest home sale in the past year was less than what you might pay for a car. See which suburbs that you can get a home in the metro area from $500k.

A dilapidated shack in the “vanishing” rural town of Lillimur notched the state’s cheapest property sale in the past year.

Less than half of Melbourne’s suburbs have a median house price beneath $1m, including just nine inner ‘burbs.

But exclusive PropTrack data has revealed where a house can still be bought for about $500,000, with Melton topping the affordability list — closely followed by Melton South, where the average house costs $515,000.

Nearby Melton West and Kurunjang rounded out the top five most affordable suburbs, both with median house prices of $560,000, as well as Dallas in the north ($520,000).

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Melton was the most affordable Melbourne suburb for houses, which on average cost $500,000. 18 Watson Court (pictured) sold for $435,000.

Melton South also ranked high in affordability due to houses like 90 Station Rd, which sold for just $396,000.

Ray White Melton director Joe Mavrikos said the area was popular among first-home buyers who saw its value for money, as mortgage repayments were often cheaper than renting.

“Property prices have remained affordable due to Melton still growing a lot, there’s talk of a new hospital and an underground train line,” Mr Mavrikos said.

“There’s also a lot of supply at the moment as investors who were impacted by interest rates and people coming off fixed rates are putting their properties on the market.”

In regional Victoria, the small town of Hopetoun — about 130km southwest of Swan Hill — came out on top for affordability with the average house costing just $185,000.

Peter Funcke Real Estate Watchupga agent Patricia Funcke said the town attracted some retirees from Melbourne looking to a buy a home outright without debt.

“It’s four hours from Melbourne so the people that are coming out from (the city) are wanting to retire and not have a mortgage, which you can’t get in Melbourne and Geelong,” Ms Funcke said.

21 Ford St, Hopetoun, was recently for sale for $265,000.

An unliveable house at 50 Phillips St, Beulah, was among the cheapest sales at $47,000.

She added the area was popular for waterskiing at Lake Lascelles, which created a demand for short-stay accommodation among tourists and a good opportunity for investors.

PropTrack also revealed the cheapest property sales across the state in the past 12 months from February 2022, which included Ms Funcke’s $47,000 sale of 50 Phillips St, Beulah, and $75,000 sale of 39 Sutcliffe St, Sea Lake.

She said the latter town had grown in popularity due to the pink-hued, saltwater Lake Tyrrell, which attracted tourists.

The lowest Victorian sale price was for a dilapidated shack, formerly a post office and courthouse, in the “vanishing” rural town of Lillimur.

Westech Real Estate NHILL agent Joanne Perkins led the $29,000 sale of 31 Commercial Rd, which had been “in disrepair” for at least 20 years.

31 Commercial Rd, Lillimur, was the cheapest sale at $29,000.

11 Kingston Rule St, Kurunjang, sold for $575,000-$625,000.

“The previous owner restumped it and intended on doing a renovation and bringing it back to its former glory, but after Covid he lost interest,” Ms Perkins said.

She said the Lillimur population was only about 20, after the majority of the once thriving town had relocated to nearby Kaniva.

“We had a huge amount of interest (in No. 31) but once people saw the volume of work and that it was zoned farming, they were put off,” Ms Perkins added.

As for Melbourne, the 10 cheapest sales were all studio apartments, including some furnished student accommodation near universities like RMIT and Swinburne.

The sales ranged from $94,000 to $157,500 and were advertised as profitable investment opportunities with a weekly rental income of about $185 to as much as $300 (approx. $16,000 a year).

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