‘Abandoned houses’: Real estate agent’s idea to help fix housing crisis

An Aussie town littered with neglected houses could help solve the country’s housing crisis, an outback real estate agent has revealed.

A cluster of “abandoned” outback homes could help solve Australia's housing crisis, a real estate agent has claimed.

The Queensland town of Mount Isa, 1,800km outside of Brisbane, has 117 essentially abandoned properties.

As dozens queue for rental properties in cities and first home buyers struggle to break into the market, sales agent John Tully from City and Country Realty said the mining town and its deserted houses could provide the answer.

He said over 50 neglected dwellings have been cropping up throughout the town for the last 10 years, suggesting people may have purchased the properties for a low price years ago and relocated.

“They just need renovating, it’s all cosmetic stuff. They’re not falling apart or anything, they’re just abandoned,” Mr Tully told news.com.au.

“All up and down the east coast [of Australia], you’ve got 50 people lining up [to inspect one rental property], but if people move here, you’ve got opportunity of buying a house on the street and having a good job as well”.

Local council documents show the houses owe at least three years in overdue rates, and while some may have people living inside, many have simply been left to rot.

Over 100 properties in the mining town have years of overdue rates and are likely abanonded. Picture: News Corp Australia

Left in their current state, he said the dwellings are a “disease” to the 20,000 strong community.

“It’s bringing the value of the property on either side of the house down,” he said.

“If you’ve got a really nice house and an abandoned house beside it, your valuation is coming down because people want to live in a nice suburb with nice houses, that’s just the reality of it.”

Mr Tully is calling on state and federal governments to provide grants for first home buyers to renovate neglected rural properties in hopes of encouraging more Aussies to head to the bush.

“The more houses that get fixed and the more people move to Mount Isa, we can solve the [housing] problem in quite a quick time.”

In Mount Isa, the median house price currently sits at $299,000, with Mr Tully sharing a two-bedroom unit could be rented for about $300-$350 a week and a house for approximately $400-$500.

“So even if you’ve bought these houses and you’ve done them up, you’re still going to get exceptionally good rent. So there’s an opportunity for any person young or old who wants to spend some money on them and make them modern to get high rent.”

It’s also good news for renters in the regional town, where Mr Tully says there is less competition among applicants.

“There’s opportunities for work in the bush, and there’s opportunities to rent. You’re not fighting against five people [for the one property],” he explained.

“You might be fighting against five people in a really nice house. But in the medium sized house, you apply for a house and if all the boxes are ticked, there’s a big chance you’ll get the house of flat rented to you.”

Real Estate Agent John Tully is encouraging struggling renters and homeowners to relocate to Mount Isa, where he says there are dozens of “abandoned” houses. Picture: Supplied

According to Mount Isa City Council’s local hosing action plan for 2021-2025, a lack of construction services have delayed building development in the town, where there is a need for over 300 dwellings.

However, Mr Tully said grants would provide more work for tradesman, encouraging them to flock to the area.

“There’s opportunities everywhere in the bush but no one’s supporting them.”

Hosing prices to continue rising throughout 2024

It comes as figures released in PropTrack’s latest Home Price Index last week revealed house prices rose nationally 5.52 per cent over the last year.

After hitting a fresh peak in November, combined capital city prices fell 0.09 per cent in December, marking the first and only decline of the year.

Across December, prices fell in Sydney, Melbourne, Hobart and Canberra, but Perth, Adelaide, Brisbane and Darwin recorded strong growth.

Proptrack economist Anne Flaherty said multiple factors contributed to the slowdown of house prices in the last quarter of 2023.

“There was an additional interest rate rise as well as an increase in the supply of homes listed for sale, which provided buyers more choice and helped to alleviate competition,” she said.

“Even though recent months have seen a rise in the number of properties listed for sale, overall supply remains relatively constrained, particularly in Perth and Brisbane. This has been a key contributor to price rises in these markets.”

In Brisbane house prices rose 0.27 per cent and reached a new peak in December, bringing the total growth over 2023 to 10.45 per cent.

High levels of population growth have supported the demand for housing in the Sunshine State, especially post-Covid.

This means Brisbane was one of the strongest performing capital city markets, with the median home price now sitting 57 per cent higher than March 2020.

house prices rose 0.27 per cent in Brisbane. Picture: Supplied.

PropTrack forecasts an increase in home prices at a national level of between one per cent and four per cent in 2024.

Perth is likely to lead the charge at a capital city level, with projected home price growth of between five per cent and eight per cent.

Adelaide is also set to see strong increases of between four and seven per cent, while Brisbane’s forecasted growth is three to six per cent.

News.com.au has contacted Mount Isa City Council for comment.