A fire derailed plans for the Estuary Rd, South New Brighton property, forcing a sale.
Harcourts listing agent Harsh Singh told OneRoof the vendor had no insurance after buying the property “as is, where is”, and relisted it as developing the 759sq m site had not been part of his plans.
At a Harcourts auction last Thursday, three buyers bid on the burnt-out shell, with offers rising quickly from $70,000 to $210,000 before the auction paused for negotiations. It returned at $360,000 and sold at that level, inclusive of GST.
Singh said the vendor had taken a “little hit” but was pleased to move on.
The buyer, a developer, plans to replace the house with two new dwellings.
Singh said the property had a much smaller buyer pool than last time, when six buyers fought over it, because the fire damage had left it suitable only for developers, builders and land-bankers.
While the house was filled with junk inside and out when it was listed for sale last year, this time there was only charred timber framing.
“It was more for the developers. It was not for someone who can buy a property and do a renovation.”
The sale price was below the vendor’s initial expectations when he listed it for sale with a different agency last year and advertised it with a fixed price of $380,000.
When the vendor picked it up last year, the listing on OneRoof described the property as “not for the faint-hearted” and warned buyers would need hard hats to view it.
“The lawns and gardens are overgrown, the yard has car bodies, there’s even a caravan, someone’s junk is another man’s treasure, so be sure to check it out,” the listing said.
