Record sale on partially demolished home with possible snakes in the garden
The Sydney home was purchased for $1.1 million in 2005 and was partially torn apart before being left abandoned for several years.
A dilapidated home with no kitchen or bathrooms and potentially snakes in its garden has been sold for an eye-watering record sum in Sydney.
The Kensington property, in the city’s inner east, sold for $4,705,000 at auction earlier this month and toppled the street’s previous biggest seller by a whopping $2.1 million.
That was despite the four-bedroom home on the 556sq m block being entirely uninhabitable with no toilets, bathrooms or kitchen, and a back window being almost entirely exposed to the elements.
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Its previous owner was midway through a renovation of the Federation home, positioned at 25 Duke Street, when they decided to bin the project entirely, according to realestate.com.au.
“It was too much work, so they pulled the pin and it never proceeded,” NG Farah’s Joe Recep told the publication.
“It’s sat there vacant ever since … the grass was knee-high when we first went there six weeks ago and the talk from locals is that there were even snakes in the backyard.”
The property attracted interest from people in the United Arab Emirates, Singapore, Hong Kong and the US, Mr Recep said.
He added more than half the prospective buyers were keen to continue restoring the home’s existing structure, while others said they would likely take to it with a bulldozer.
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The former owners bought the property for $1.1 million in 2005, halting their renovations after stripping some of the ornate ceilings, along with the kitchen, toilet and bathrooms.
More than 15 people registered for the auction, with four battling it out on the day after bidding opened at $3.5 million.
The new owner, who lives just 500 metres from their latest acquisition, has yet to disclose if they will demolish or restore the historic gem.
The spacious block would also allow for additional dwellings to be built.
In 2016, number seven on Duke Street sold for $2.57 million, which until this month held the street record, according to CoreLogic.