Sat. Nov 16th, 2024
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A fire-damaged home in Adelaide’s north that has been deemed inhabitable has sold for above asking price, after thousands of enquiries.

The three-bedroom semi-detached house at Elizabeth North was listed for $159,000 to $169,000.

Photos of the property show a severely-damaged kitchen and rear laundry area, as well as furniture and belongings scattered across other rooms. 

Agent Dominic Cirillo said the property initially sold before Christmas, but the buyer pulled out and it then sold again.

“The phone has been ringing hot, we sold it again for even more than the first time,” he said.

He declined to say how much it sold for, as it has not yet settled.

The exterior of a fire-damaged home.
The front of the property shows a red-brick facade and a white picket fence.(realestate.com.au)

But he said he received more than 20 offers and fielded thousands of enquiries from local and interstate buyers.

He said he had to hold viewings every day, sometimes twice a day, to keep up with demand.

“It’s gone nuts — 4,000 or 6,000 hits I’ve had,” he said.

Adelaide is the only capital city market with new record-high house and unit prices, bucking a national downward trend, according to the latest report from real estate company Domain.

Interior of a fire-damaged home.
The laundry area also has significant fire damage.(realestate.com.au)

According to realestate.com.au, the median price for a three-bedroom house in Elizabeth North is $290,000 — an increase of nearly 40 per cent on the previous 12 months.

The listing described the property on Old Sarum Road as a “partial fire damaged home at a fire sale price”, and noted that the property is subject to a Housing Improvement Act (HIA) order.

Mr Cirillo said the HIA order was relating to the fire.

“It’s not habitable, but it just needs to be cleaned up and some roof trusses and roof beams put back in,” he said.

Mr Cirillo said the property was “70 per cent fine”, with most of the damaged contained to the rear of the property.

The exterior of a fire-damaged home.
The rear of the property has extensive damage.(realestate.com.au)

“The fire started in the rear laundry porch area and unfortunately spread to the roofing area, so the rear section of the home is pretty damaged,” he said.

Mr Cirillo said the property attracted “a swag of young people” who were first-home buyers.

But he said he had to warn them they may have difficulty securing a home loan from a bank for the inhabitable property.

“If you’re a young person with a small deposit … they may not give you a residential loan,” he said.

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