Bagging a bargain: The fixer uppers for sale across Australia
They’re known by many names – fixer-uppers, renovator’s dreams or even “renovate or detonate” homes – but agents say unpolished gems are more popular than ever as they give buyers an opportunity to get into sought-after suburbs for less. Even if that means paying more than $1 million for a property that “needs a little work”.
That’s certainly the case in Sydney, where a three-bedroom home at 4 Roseview Avenue, Roselands, has hit the market, with a price guide of around $1.2 million.
Mayfair Real Estate partner Karem Lakiss said the “very original” property, about 16 kilometres from the city, would go to auction on December 4 and was being sold on behalf of a family who had lived there for many years.
Mr Lakiss said buyers were keen to get into suburbs like Roselands, even if they had to do some renovating.
“It used to be that development sites were popular where people could build duplexes on them, but now most people prefer a fixer-upper,” he said.
A little further away from the city, in Cabramatta, a home that needs a lot of spit and polish is also for sale, albeit for a cheaper price. The three-bedroom home with a unique kitchen at 37 Bowden Street has a price guide between $800,000 and $850,000 and will be auctioned this weekend.
“This property has had the same family owner for over 50 years,” Starr Partners Auburn sales executive Tom Murphy said.
Being just a 10-minute walk from the train station and 300 metres from Cabramatta High School had made it a popular property for buyers, including first-home buyers, Mr Murphy said.
Many of the interested parties were locals, he said, and were not put off by the renovations that needed to be done. And many were families looking to stay in the area.
“The families that live in Cabramatta find something for the kids in Cabramatta,” Mr Murphy said.
In Melbourne, fixer-uppers are also not putting off buyers keen to get into the housing market, especially in the sought-after northern suburb of Reservoir.
A three-bedroom home on a large block of land at 761 Plenty Road needs a lot of work to bring it up to modern standards.
The home has a price guide between $1.2 million and $1.3 million as it sits on a 706-square-metre block of land.
“We have a developer that’s interested and we also have a first-home buyer so it’s quite hard to say whether it will be torn down or whether the buyer will do a renovation,” Love & Co selling agent Ken Gu said.
In Melbourne’s outer east, a two-bedroom unit in need of some TLC has hit the market for the first time in more than 20 years. The small home at 1/217 Boronia Road, Boronia listed with a price guide of between $400,000 and $440,000 has seen a lot of interest from people who want to bag a bargain.
“There’s really nothing else on the market for close to this price in the area,” Harcourts Boronia selling agent Joshua Conroy said.
Brisbane’s familiar Queenslander homes, some built in the 1800s, always have a large number of interested buyers – both local and interstate – even houses that need updating.
In West End, an older home that has been converted into three apartments has hit the market, with other similarly sized homes selling for $2.5 million.
The property at 30 Bristol Street will be auctioned this weekend and has had interest from overseas and interstate buyers looking to fix it up into a grand home again, Ray White South Brisbane principal agent Luke Croft said.
“The vendor has his eyes on another project. He started the application process to build a couple of townhouses out the back so there is the opportunity for a new owner to do that,” he said.
In South Brisbane, a house that was used as a rental at 82 Gloucester Street has also hit the market to be auctioned this weekend. The price guide for the two-bedder that needs a makeover is in the early $1 million range.
Place Bulimba lead agent Mikaela Crone said the property was loved for its character, including original stained glass windows and a worker’s cottage facade.
“I’ve had lots of phone calls on it already,” Ms Crone said.
While these fixer-uppers are expected to sell for above $1 million, a much cheaper option is available in Donnybrook, about two hours from the Perth CBD. A house there at 25 Ramsay Terrace is up for private sale for just $240,000.
“It is cosy but it just needs a bit of work done to it,” Summit Realty Southwest Donnybrook selling agent Chris Cain said. The home was being sold as part of a deceased estate, he said.
While Donnybrook had become very popular with buyers since COVID-19 hit, the only thing stopping buyers from snapping up some fixer-uppers was the difficulty finding tradies for renovations, Mr Cain said. Many had become very busy during the pandemic.
“Someone’s got to be handy to buy the house so they can do the work themselves,” he said.
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