It has a yard that wouldn’t look out of place in war-torn Ukraine and serious haunted house vibes inside, but a ‘neglected’ terrace could end being one of the hottest bargains in Sydney‘s flat property market.
An unflattering photo of the back yard on the advertising hoarding for three-bedroom terrace 18 Turner Street, Redfern is what greets passers-by when they encounter this classic ‘renovator’s delight’.
‘Given state of property there’s no point in trying to hide it,’ said selling agent Hayden Richards, of Ray White Touma Group.
‘But we wanted to show big the backyard is too, its a 156sqm north-facing blank canvas.’
But with a buyer’s guide of ‘just’ $1million for the large block, walking distance from the city its looks are unlikely to worry potential buyers.
Redfern’s median house price remains an eye-watering $1.75million.
The ‘neglected’ terrace goes under the hammer on November 5.
Overall, house prices in inner-city Redfern have plummeted 11.8 per cent – a massive $315,772 – since April, in line with the downward trends across the city.
House prices have tumbled 10 per cent in 40 per cent of Sydney suburbs in the past six months.
Around the state and the rest of Australia it’s been even worse in other suburbs. At Narrabeen on Sydney’s Northern Beaches house prices have fallen 19.5 per cent, a drop worth a massive $584,739 on average.
At Fairfield in Queensland, they’re down 19.2 per cent, a fall worth $254,991 per sale.
For many owner-occupiers and builders, lower prices are welcome because that means bargains are to be found.
While 18 Turner street, with its desolate yard and decrepit interior, hardly looks a million bucks, it will almost certainly sell for much more.
A previous assessment based on CoreLogic data suggests 18 Turner Street could have sold for up to $1.4million at the peak of the market.
That means anyone getting it for around a million is scoring a property almost 30 per cent lower than its peak potential price.
The reason it’s selling so much lower is the high cost of building work, says Mr Richards.
‘It’s unique property, it’s a big north-facing terrace in a good spot however because it’s in pretty bad condition we opened it for interpretation to get feedback from buyers and got a few offers around a million.
‘It definitely presents a lot of opportunity for someone willing to get their hands dirty.’
Mr Richards reckons most Sydney properties will sell for 10 per cent off their peak price ‘if they are schmick’ but more like 15 per cent lower if they need work.
‘That’s purely because of the cost of building work’.
According to CoreLogic the cost of construction in New South Wales rose 4 per cent for the three months to September.
In Victoria the rise was 5.6 per cent and it 5.8 per cent in Queensland.
But the increases cost of some types of building materials are much higher. The cost of reinforced steel, structural timber and steel beams in June were up by 40 per cent on the year to June.
Mr Richards believes the Sydney property market has stabilised.
‘There’s some good buying out there, I feel as though things starting to normalise the market is starting to cool a bit. A month or two ago when interest rates going up and up things were very turbulent and unknown, now the market has more confidence back in it.
He said lack of housing stock for sale has stopped prices falling further but believes the first six months of 2023 will be crucial.
‘The first six months will be a good indication because a lot of interest periods will be finishing. You may see a lot of people selling.
‘But my gut feeling is the market is holding.’
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