An unusual property has hit the market with a palatable price tag of $320,000 – but not all is at it seems.
The freestanding building is in the western Sydney suburb of Granville and may seem like a steal amidst the city’s $1million property price average – but the 44sqm ‘home’ has no fit out.
Sitting on a 177sqm lot, the small rectangular building which was once an electrical substation has no internal walls, bedrooms, bathroom or kitchen, four small windows and a bare concrete floor.
This abandoned electric substation in Sydney may seem like a steal at $320,000 considering the city’s $1million average however the tiny property has no fit out or even power
The property is being offered up by Endeavor Energy for ‘the first time in generations’, according to the listing, on the condition the transformer box in the front yard stays put.
Despite the power box on the front lawn, the property is currently not connected to electricity.
On the advertisement, the agent writes the building ‘could potentially be used for storage/yard purposes or converted into a unique modern industrial New York loft style residence, studio/flat subject to Council Approval’.
Sitting on a 177sqm lot, the small rectangular building which was once an electrical substation has no internal walls, bathroom or kitchen, four small windows and a bare concrete floor
On the advertisement, the agent writes the building ‘could potentially be used for storage/yard purposes or converted into a unique modern industrial New York loft style residence
They said it boasts a reinforced concrete floor, double brick walls and a pitched tiled roof and is zoned for low density housing.
Agent David Matkovic told news.com.au the property is the ‘true definition of a blank canvas’ and has been receiving a lot of interest from buyers and investors wanting to turn it into a home.
This isn’t the first time the Sydney real estate market has confused residents.
Many were left shocked by a real estate listing advertising a burnt down home the vendors are trying to sling for a whopping $5million.
Australians are mocking a property listing advertising a house that has been burnt down in Sydney’s Inner West for an eye-watering $5million
The scorched home sits on a sizeable 1,530sqm block in Strathfield in Sydney’s Inner West, almost half an hour from the city centre and is now going for $212,000 more than before the blaze.
The Wentworth road house was sold for $4.788million in February last year, six months before it went up in flames and was left in the unliveable state it is today.
Aussies hoping to one day enter the property market have been disheartened by the multi-million dollar damaged residence and joked the listing was a ‘prank’.
The Wentworth road house had been sold for $4.788million in February last year, six months before it went up in flames and was left in the unliveable state it is today
According to the listing on realestate.com.au, the dilapidated pad offers buyers a ‘fleetingly rare opportunity to add value in an exciting Inner West location’.
‘With two lots across this excellent, clear block the savvy investor has scope to create outstanding additional income steams with potential to build up to two luxury homes, a childcare centre, a duplex, a boarding house and more (Subject to Council Approval),’ it read.
While the listing doesn’t specify the asking price, it appears in searches for properties going for a minimum of $5million.
Before it was burnt to a crisp, the house has eight bedrooms, four bathrooms and had tenants paying $1490 a week in rent.
Before it was burnt to a crisp, the house has eight bedrooms, four bathrooms and had tenants paying $1490 a week in rent
On the night of August 1 2021, emergency services were called to the property to contain the blaze and neighbouring houses were evacuated.
Online social media users slammed the ‘insane’ property listing with one hoping it was a joke.
‘This isn’t actually real right? Like this is a late April fools joke or satirical piece?’ they asked.
‘Perfect to slap eight units on for $850 a week,’ a second bitterly joked.
‘Still obsessed with house prices and how I’ll never own one,’ wrote a third.
‘In times like these, squatting becomes duty,’ laughed another.
The median price of the 69 five-bedroom intact homes in Strathfield sold in the last year currently sits at $4.293million according to Domain while the average house price for the suburb is $3.5million.
Residential house prices took a hit in Sydney in the June quarter thanks to interest rates hikes however the Australia Bureau of Statistics reported last year alone they rose by a record 24 per cent in the nation’s capital cities.
Housing advocates say there is a desperate shortage of affordable housing in Australia with many blaming a tax system that encourages property investment as retirement income based on high rental yields.
Australia needs to build 650,000 affordable homes by 2036, the UNSW City Futures Research Centre recommended.
In the year to March, Australia’s median property price surged by 18.2 per cent to $738,975, CoreLogic data showed.
With a 20 per cent deposit factored in, an average, full-time professional on $90,917 would already be in mortgage stress, having a debt-to-income ratio of more than ‘six’.
Sydney’s median house price of $1.403million is now so dear an individual borrower with a 20 per cent deposit would need to earn $187,000 a year, or be among the top 3.5 per cent of income earners to avoid being in mortgage stress.
***
Read more at DailyMail.co.uk