Melbourne auctions: House with pool that hasn’t been used in 20 years the hottest Australian property heading under the hammer
A north west Melbourne home has unexpectedly become Australia’s hottest property — despite sinking stumps, water damage and a festering pool that hasn’t been used in for 20 years.
A Sunbury home has unexpectedly become Australia’s hottest property — despite sinking stumps, water damage and a festering pool that hasn’t been swum in for 20 years.
Melbourne will host 722 of the nation’s 1900 expected auctions, according to PropTrack figures.
And the Cuming Place home that’s been listed as “renovate or detonate” has been the most popular among prospective buyers out of all of them.
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It’s the latest sign renovators delights are back on shopping lists after years of buyers turning their noses up at them in response to surging building costs.
Ray White Sunbury’s Aaron Hill has the home listed for sale at $480,000-$520,000 in one of the cheapest house listings in the suburb this year, but he said its reserve will sit within that range as the owners move into care.
In the past four weeks it has been inspected by more than 200 groups and has 16 bidders registered, many of them first-home buyers.
But the next owner will need to restump the home, as it has sunk in the middle.
The kitchen is leaning as a result and will likely need to be replaced.
There’s also water damage from an upstairs bathroom that has impacted the ground level.
“It’s pretty much a full gut, it needs a bit of money,” Mr Hill said.
“And I don’t believe you can salvage the pool. It hasn’t been swum in for 20 years, so I don’t see anyone keeping it.”
The agent noted that while some buyers were hoping to spend $50,000 to get it to the point where they could move in for a few years, others were estimating it would cost as much as $200,000 to make it their forever home.
“But, if you are a first-home buyer, it’s in one of the best spots in the suburb. It’s right behind Salesian College,” Mr Hill said.
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A regular auctioneer for The Block, he sold Ozman (Oz) Abu Malik and Omar Slaimankhel and Omar’s series winning home to Adrian Portelli in 2023.
While tight lipped on what this year’s season might hold, he did note that the Cuming Place home would have been “amazing for The Block to have fixed up”, though they would have needed a few more like it.
Belle Property Victorian boss Anthony Webb said his agencies had been seeing a significant shift in Victorians’ appetite for renovation projects and demolition jobs.
“We had one in Melton last weekend … we had to reduce the price because you had to factor in demolition, the house was in abysmal condition,” Mr Webb said.
“But it had heaps of people through and sold really, really well.”
He noted another in Mornington got a similarly strong response the week prior.
“This time last year, those homes would have sat on the market and you wouldn’t have had anyone through,” Mr Webb said.
“But the cost of living is hitting people hard at the moment, and while construction is still definitely expensive … people are looking for the ones where they can do things themselves, or get help from friends.
“It’s mates rates and weekend jobs for tradies.”
And, while last year buyers had been prepared to wait and see if they could buy a better finished property, today they were becoming more worried they would miss out as the market rose, Mr Webb said.
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Originally published as Melbourne auctions: House with pool that hasn’t been used in 20 years the hottest Australian property heading under the hammer
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