Back-to-back auction blitz of 16 properties in Australia's cheapest town of Coober Pedy

Australia’s cheapest town to buy real estate is preparing to sell 16 properties, one after the other, in a same-day auction blitz.

The Coober Pedy local council is auctioning the homes consecutively on May 3 at a local hotel in the opal mining mecca – which has Hollywood connections – to recoup unpaid rates from the owners.

Coober Pedy’s median house price is $69,000, the lowest of any postcode in Australia, Domain’s year-ending 2022 figures show. The South Australian town, 846km north of Adelaide on the Stuart Highway, was the dusty red set of the iconic 1985 movie Mad Max Thunderdome, starring Mel Gibson and Tina Turner, and is known as the opal capital of the world.

Buyers from around Australia can log into the auction event and find a bargain – it will be conducted in-person and on Zoom, to allow for online bidding – but they must register by close of business on May 2.

Sixteen Coober Pedy auctions on May 3
See the full list and all of the property photos here

ALL PROPERTIES SOLD AT AUCTION!

Lot 2028 Monument Road, Coober Pedy SA 5723

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Some of the properties include above-ground dwellings (one is a house in need of repairs, with sheds included), vacant plots of land and dugouts, some unfurnished, some incomplete and others large enough to accommodate three bedrooms.

Many properties in Coober Pedy are nestled underground, dugout style, to combat the severe heat.

The listing on Domain for the 16 properties does not provide price guides.

Under the published terms and conditions, the buyer is responsible for evicting the resident of the property they buy, including any costs incurred during this process.

The District Council of Coober Pedy holds unpaid rates auctions once a year, as do all councils nationwide. The addresses of properties going under the hammer are advertised on council websites, available to the public to view.

A few rules apply on the day of the auction in Coober Pedy – properties are sold “as is”, meaning prospective buyers cannot book in a building or pest inspection before bidding and they cannot physically view the home prior. The deposit of 10 per cent will need to be paid by the end of the day, the terms and conditions say, and settlement will be in 30 days.

The auctions start at 11am on May 3 at the Desert Cave Hotel’s conference room, run by Warren Andrews of Andrews Property Regional Property SA, which specialises in the area.

Buyers who like the skin-prickling heat that the desert town can offer but prefer barrelling waves to blasts of red dust could look instead to the Gold Coast, where the city council is also sending several homes under the hammer, to reclaim unpaid rates, on April 20.

Homeowners can avoid unpaid rates auction if they pay the outstanding amount and so the list of properties going under the hammer in Coober Pedy and on the Gold Coast can change at the eleventh hour.

The auctioneer in Coober Pedy will let anyone in the audience know if a property they are keen on is no longer available, due to the owner getting up to date with what is owed, the published rules explain.

A notice of auction is the last step in a six-stage process by a council, including written reminders and phone calls, and contact from a debt recovery agency, to obtain rates that have been wholly or partly outstanding for up to three years.