NSW’s cheapest homes: $35,000 buys you a house (with a catch)
Extreme imbalances in price growth since the pandemic have meant a range of homes are for sale for less than the price of a car.
They’re NSW’s cheapest houses – and some of them cost less than the cars a prospective buyer might drive to get to the inspection.
Extreme imbalances in housing price growth since the pandemic have meant a range of houses spread across NSW can be snapped up for as low as $35,000.
Analysis of realestate.com.au listings showed there are currently at least 50 freestanding homes across the state advertised with a price below $100,000 – 16 times cheaper than a typical Sydney house.
These prices are also less than the typical deposit one would place on a Sydney home, or in some cases, lower than the tax bill that would be charged on a house at the Sydney median.
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But there’s a huge catch: the sub-$100,000 homes often need urgent repairs and they’re far from amenities.
Among the ultra-cheap homes currently up for sale is a house in outback town Broken Hill, where the interior has been completely gutted. It’s listed for $$85,000.
A house on an acre in Wakool in the Murray region is for sale at $63,000. The house has no windows.
A plot in Opal mining centre Lightning Ridge is for sale at $35,000 and includes a wired and watered corrugated structure with one room and a roofed space occupied by two caravans.
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Prices in many of the suburbs where these and other sub-$100,000 homes are located have been plummeting since 2020, often at a similar pace to depopulation in the local area.
These drawbacks aside, local agents have revealed some of these deals can be popular with property investors because the rent generated off the houses can deliver high returns.
Houses in Broken Hill, where there are multiple dwellings for sale under $100,000, currently have some of the highest average rental returns in the country at 9 per cent.
Local agent Tara Nadge of LJ Hooker said many investors were prepared to take a punt with these properties because the prices were rock bottom.
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“The margin to make a profit is quite high if you renovate,” she said, adding that some investors fell into a trap of never starting works.
“There are lots of ageing homes. Structurally they are not great. Some people buy them with the intent to renovate them but never do and they go up for sale 10 years later, but there hasn’t been any maintenance.”
Buyer’s agent Eddie Dilleen, who has built a property portfolio of over 100 properties around the country, said ultra-cheap real estate deals weren’t always as cost effective as the prices suggested.
“Banks often require a much larger deposit and if you’re renting them out, the management fees are often double,” he said.
“There can be other complications with buying these. Vacancy rates will be higher, which could be a problem if you’re renting them out.
“Another issue is that there’s a shortage of tradies in these areas and that will be a big problem if you ever need to do maintenance.”
Originally published as NSW’s cheapest homes: $35,000 buys you a house (with a catch)