Eye-watering price for Aussie hoarder house

Although the derelict hoarder’s home took two years to clean out, it was snapped up in no time after two parties squared up in a bidding war.

A hoarder’s house in the heart of Sydney has sold for hundreds of thousands of dollars above reserve after a bidding war.

On Saturday, a two-bedroom, one-bathroom home in Woollahra, in Sydney’s east, sold for an eye-watering $2.45 million.

The auction saw two competing parties try to outbid each other, pushing the price way above its $1.85 million reserve.

Despite taking the better part of two years to clean out the run-down house, the property was snapped up in no time.

The unrenovated house was originally built in 1900 and had been the home of a hoarder for 50 years.

The man had moved from the UK to Australia around the 1950s and had briefly worked as a crocodile hunter before settling down in Sydney.

The house was built in 1900 and is unrenovated.

A hoarder lived there for around 50 years.

The Woollahra property was a deceased estate, with the property handed down to the man’s family members who still reside in the UK.

As a result, a lot of the cleaning fell to the real estate agency.

Ray White Woollahra selling agent Jack Taylor said it had taken two years to get to the point where they could sell the house, after wading through the junk at the property and also all the paperwork involve with dealing with a public trustee.

“It was a hoarder house and we had to empty the whole thing out, which took 10 loads to the tip,” Mr Taylor told The Sydney Morning Herald.

Andy Bigham, a relative of the deceased owner who attended the auction, told The Daily Telegraph the hoarder had answered a job advertisement for a crocodile hunter in the Northern Territory and packed up his things in London to begin his new life.

The adventurer later worked as an English teacher and a taxi driver.

A couple from Sydney’s upper north shore are the new owners.

The clean-up took around two years, real estate agents said.

Mr Taylor said the sale price was absolutely shocking.

“We honestly weren’t expecting this. With a reserve of $1.85 million, we thought maybe we’d get $2 million. But this blew us away,” he told the publication.

A couple from the upper north shore battled with a local builder to buy the derelict home. The couple ultimately won.

Median property prices in Woollahra over the last year range from $4,250,000 for houses to $1,400,000 for units, according to realestate.com.au.

The average rent goes for $1550 a week in the area.

Across Australia, 2,184 homes went to auction on Saturday, according to Proptrack.

There were 758 auctions scheduled in Sydney this week, up six per cent year-on-year, and 1086 auctions scheduled next week.

The most viewed residential listing on realestate.com.au this week was 12 Fyfe Court, Trigg, WA.

Next week will mark the first meeting of the Reserve Bank of Australia this year.

It’s possible the RBA will cut rates, which would be welcome relief for mortgage holders around the country.

Originally published as Eye-watering price for Aussie hoarder house