Shock reason Qld builder bought a hoarder house at auction

A Queensland builder who specialises in million-dollar homes is the new owner of a unique ‘house’ described as both an Aladdin’s Cave and a hoarders haven. FIND OUT WHY HE BOUGHT IT.

The front door to 3 Burramugga Cres, Kirwan

A Townsville builder who specialises in multimillion-dollar homes is the new owner of a unique ‘house’ described as both an Aladdin’s Cave and a hoarders haven.

The unique “house” at 3 Burramugga Cresent in Kirwan, a suburb of Townsville, recently sold under the hammer for $255,000, with a whopping 27 registered bidders for the “lucky dip”.

The one-of-a-kind property, sold sight unseen from the front fence, was a package deal, with the new owner also purchasing everything left inside the home.

The unique residence at 3 Burramugga Cres, Kirwan

And the list was extensive, from book collections to furniture, building materials and even a 1960’s vintage aluminium “Chesney” caravan.

“The property has an extensive collection of books varying in genres and age which would excite the most flamboyant librarian,” Ian Clarke of Ian Clarke Real Estate said of the property, which was sold on behalf of the Public Trustee.

Described as a “brain wave design by (a) former architect designer”, the property consists of a “bespoke timber framed metal cladded dwelling” on a 607sq m block.

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Books

Listing pictures show a structure reminiscent of two silos or water tanks with a central area dedicated to “casual living”.

One side hosts the lounge, kitchen and garage, while the other has three bedrooms, including two with wardrobes, a laundry, and bathroom.

And more books

Interior pictures show rugs, furniture, a large mirror, outdoor chairs, books galore and electic retro items.

There is also takeaway boxes and other rubbish strewn in some rooms.

“I think some of the rubbish actually might have been from some squatters but other than that, there is an eclectic mix in there,” he said.

“And it is a large dwelling, even thought it is a bit unusual.”

A bed surrounded by more books ... and other items

One social media commentator, who claimed to live across the road from the property, described it as a “rats paradise”.

But there was no shortage of would-be buyers, with bidding starting at $143,000 - or land value.

3 Burramugga Cres, Kirwan

From there, Mr Clarke said, it moved quite quickly before the remaining bidders battled it out in $1000 hits.

The casual living area

“The buyer is a local builder who has bought a few renovator houses but he is more of a high-end builder,” Mr Clarke said.

“But he has a few tradies who work for him who are struggling for accommodation so they are going to do it up for them to stay in.”

3 Burramugga Cres, Kirwan

Mr Clarke said it was a trend that was becoming more common in the current housing crisis.

“I have seen a bit of that happening, where businesses, especially if they have work contracts in Townsville, are buying properties just to house staff,” he said.

“We saw quite a lot of that in the mining boom as well.”

One of the three bedrooms

Mr Clarke said the owner had been an architectural engineer, but had not quite finished his passion project.

“It is really like going back down memory lane in there,” he said.

“There are VCRs and videos on the shelf, like wow, a VCR. It seems like so long ago.”

3 Burramugga Cres, Kirwan

The REIQ Vacancy Report, released at the end of April, described “relatively stable yet dangerously low vacancy rates” during the first quarter of this year.

But there was some ‘good news’ in the latest PropTrack Market Insight Report, which was released earlier this week.

3 Burramugga Cres, Kirwan

Beleaguered Brisbane renters were granted some relief in June, with the vacancy rate up 0.05 percentage points to 1.2 per cent.

But the share of rental properties vacant and available in Brisbane remained a whopping 45 per cent down since the start of pandemic in March 2020, while conditions in regional Queensland were more dire still, with 48 per cent fewer rental homes on the market.

3 Burramugga Cres, Kirwan

However, Regional Queensland also notched up a tiny increase in vacancies in June, rising to 1.26 per cent.

PropTrack senior economist and report author Anne Flaherty said the jump in listings was “good news for renters”, but noted a “chronic undersupply of rental properties” was likely to continue over the next few years.

The Rental Pain Index Report by SuburbTrends also showed that the impact of high rent remained a critical issue across Queensland, with the number of suburbs experiencing “extreme rental pain” climbing to more than 81 per cent,

That result was “indicating worsening affordability challenges”, according to SuburbTrends founder Kent Lardner.

“The impact of high rents on household budgets is profound,” Mr Lardner said.

SQM Research, which also tracks vacancies at varying levels, has the North Queensland rental market, which includes Townsville, sitting at 1.5 per cent as of the end of May, down from 1.8 per cent in March.

Originally published as Shock reason Qld builder bought a hoarder house at auction