While Sydney buyers scramble for homes costing millions of dollars, several Aussie families walked away from one auction this week with a home for the price of a used car.
The first round of flood buyback auctions held in Lismore this year has seen 10 flood-affected homes in NSW’s north sold for prices ranging from $5,000 to $42,000.
Sixty attendees watched the homes go under the hammer at Lismore Workers Sports Club on Tuesday, with 34 registered bidders contributing to a total sales value of $266,100.
4 Crown Ln, South Lismore
4 Crown Ln, South Lismore sold for just $5000, while 35 Ewing St claimed the highest price of the night at $42,000 – the price of a 5 per cent deposit on an $840,000 home.
The sales were the latest of the 140 buyback properties that have been offered for sale across the Northern Rivers as part of the $880m Resilient Homes Program.
The auction drew a diverse crowd of builders and young families, along with a new wave of buyers seeking to transplant these homes into ‘nature-filled’ rural setting.
As part of a new requirement, buyers must prove they have secured flood-free land to relocate the home to before the end of 2026.
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35 Ewing St, Lismore
All NSW proceeds from the home sales, after costs, are reinvested into the Resilient Homes Program to support more flood-affected residents.
Minister for Recovery Janelle Saffin said it brought her “great joy” to see the homes sold to young families and first-home buyers.
“These homes are part of mine and the wider community’s shared history, and this program has always been about people,” she said.
“Those who received a buyback, those giving those homes a second life.”
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The highest flood on record in Lismore hit the area in February 2022. Picture: Darren Leigh Roberts
NSW Reconstruction Authority executive director Northern Rivers adaptation division Kristie Clarke said around a thousand homes will be bought back by the end of 2026.
“As a result of these goals, we’re calling on builders and construction experts to join one of the biggest home resilience and relocation efforts ever undertaken in Australia on the back of these successful auctions,” she said.
The next round of flood-affected home auctions will be conducted at the Murwillumbah Services Club on March 17.
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