From coast to country: Why buyers are heading inland to find a quirky home
Buyers priced out of coastal areas or expensive inner-city suburbs are looking inland and discovering more than just cheaper prices, with agents reporting they are snapping up the country’s quirkiest homes in record time.
Some of the most unusual homes are being purchased – some without even being listed – while others are receiving dozens of inquiries from those looking for an escape during the pandemic.
In NSW’s Northern Tablelands, Sydney-based buyers looking for a lifestyle change have been inundating agents, said Uphill & Schaefer Real Estate director Shane Kliendienst.
A unique abode at 11 Claude Street, Armidale, has been particularly popular with buyers. It has been listed with a guide of $349,000, a bargain compared to some coastal areas of Sydney where houses can cost north of $3.5 million.
“The market has been pretty hot here in Armidale,” Mr Kliendienst said. “A lot of buyers have been priced out of coastal areas so they are looking inland.”
The home in Claude Street has a lot of unique features, including kitchen cabinetry built by one of the home’s previous owners.
Mr Kliendienst said that the owner had been a cabinet maker and builder and added his own touches to the home, including an extended living area and unique upstairs bedroom. He had also built a meditation/yoga hut and a quirky chicken coop.
The current vendors, who had owned the property for the past five years, were looking to move somewhere with more land, Mr Kliendienst said.
The market has also been hot in Kilkivan, in the Gympie region near Brisbane, where those who cannot afford to buy on the Sunshine Coast or are priced out of Brisbane, are looking to buy property.
A bright blue home at 8 Park Street, Kilkivan, has had lots of interest from these buyers, said McGill and Eview Group director Mark McGill.
“Kilkivan is a good passing-through town,” Mr McGill said. “It’s on the way to the Sunshine Coast and to western Queensland. It has a great country pub.”
He said the home, which came with more than 4000 square metres of land and featured storage of six cars, was in need of some repair and renovation. It would be perfect as a holiday house, a bed and breakfast or even a home for a first-home buyer.
Priced around the $265,000 mark, the unique property is much cheaper than its equivalent on the Sunshine Coast, where the median house price sits at $825,000.
In the South Australian town of Farrell Flat, close to the Clare Valley wine region, a unique home created from three properties including a former fruit shop is up for sale.
Like other unique properties, the home at 4-6 Patterson Terrace has received a lot of attention from buyers who are priced out of Adelaide’s wine region, said Ray White Clare Valley principal agent Mark O’Meagher.
“It used to be set up as a hall for dances, then it had a fruit shop and general store but the current owners converted it to a homestead, a conference centre and a bed and breakfast,” Mr O’Meagher said.
Priced at $490,000, well below Adelaide’s median of $780,000, the home would be perfect for someone close to retirement looking for a peaceful life where they could earn money, he said.
It was a similar story in Dennington, close to the coastal city of Warrnambool, where an almost original 1930s home has come up for sale for the first time in 88 years.
Buyers looking for a lifestyle change for less, have been interested in the property 179 Illowa Road, which has original art deco features and comes with more than 2500 square metres of land.
Charles Stewart Real Estate selling agent Bernard Moloney said buyers from Melbourne and Geelong had been interested in the home.
“In Warrnambool, the rural market is so hot people are ringing around agents asking for a house within 10 kilometres of [the city] with three bedrooms and land … they’re selling before they even hit the market,” Mr Moloney said.
The home has been listed with a price range of $450,000 to $500,000 – cheaper than Geelong’s house price median of $735,000 and less than half the price of Melbourne’s $1022,927.
It will go to auction on October 2 to allow interested buyers to bid, Mr Moloney said.
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