Dongas, hoarders houses, relocatable homes and holiday units with no power or water are on the market for roughly the price of a modest family home in Brisbane just 30 years ago.
Exclusive new PropTrack data shows just how mad the Queensland property market has become, with a donga in Malbon, approximately 50km south of Cloncurry, listed for just $5000 less than an average home in Ipswich in 1994.
What 1994 Ipswich homes prices will now get you near Cloncurry
On the market for $70,000, the converted donga has a combined living/kitchen space plus a bedroom with an ensuite-style bathroom.
Meanwhile, Queensland’s cheapest “house” is listed for $20,000 in Millbank near Bundaberg.
It is a one bedroom caravan with an annex and needs renovation.
Queensland’s cheapest “house” on the market right now
Another two bedroom caravan and annex is listed for $35,000 in Kensington, which is also near Bundaberg.
$35,000 will get you this in Kensington
And a house dubbed Queensland’s “cheapest home … in 30 years” is under offer after being listed for just $40,000.
Located at Daymar, a small rural town in southwestern Queensland, the rundown property has up to four bedrooms, a water tank, pink and green walls and rank carpets.
“This is the cheapest home we’ve offered in 30 years!” the listing by Harmony Property Group agent Deborah Lubke says.
“Yes, it needs lots of TLC, but it’s on freehold land at an unbeatable price.”
A lot of TLC? More like a bulldozer.
The house in Daymar is under offer
There are currently less than 20 properties on offer across Queensland with a price tag below $100,000.
In 1994, the median house price in six regions was less than $100,000 – Ipswich ($75,000), Logan-Beaudesert ($90,000), Mackay-Isaac-Whitsunday ($92,000), Moreton Bay North ($86,000), Toowoomba ($90,000) and Townsville ($97,000).
Now, $100,000 can get you a “movable dwelling” in a caravan park at Dunwich.
“In the current market, owning a home is out of reach for so many,” the listing says, adding that anything affordable is “fiercely competitive”.
“This is an opportunity to get your foot in the door to the housing market and work your way up.”
11/75 East Coast Road, Dunwich
There is also a number of properties for sale for under $100,000 on Stradbroke Island.
But buyers are warned that “all power, water and gas has been disconnected” at the Couran Cove Resort, which is closed.
“Currently numerous owners have been setting up there property’s on the island off grid,” the listing for one such property says.
“There are still on going legal disputes between the resort owners and the numerous body corporates.
“The body corporates (owners of properties on the island) are in the full control and are slowly but surely sorting out the situation.
“We believe the island will be back within the next 12 months.”
Couran Cove has been the subject of protracted legal arguments
But there is yet another catch, with the listing warning that “unfortunately no banks or financial institutions are currently lending on the island” unless a mainland property is given as security.
The PropTrack data shows that 30 years ago, buyers could by an average home in Greater Brisbane for $114,000. Now, buyers can expect to fork out $870,000.
At Goondi Bend near Innisfail, an “off-grid, unfinished project” is listed for $99,900 – slightly more than a liveable home in Townsville in 1994.
It is being sold “as is”, with no kitchen, toilet or smoke alarms.
46 Hickory Street, Goondi Bend, has no toilet or kitchen
A two-bedroom house with pre-existing termite damage is listed for $80,000 in Hughenden – just $6000 less than an average home in Moreton Bay North 30 years ago.
Ian Clarke of Ian Clarke Real Estate, who often auctions off ramshackle homes on behalf of the Public Trustee, said buyers were desperate for an affordable roof over their heads.
A Condon property with a rusted boat out the back sold sight unseen for $220,500 after attracting 28 registered bidders and 44 bids.
A rundown cottage in Townville attracted 33 bids and sold under the hammer for $256,000, while 27 registered bidders signed on to compete for a hoarders haven in Kirwan, which sold for $255,000.
“For anything at an affordable price, it is not uncommon for buyers to offer way above list price,” he said.
This Cloncurry house is listed for $79,000
In Brisbane, Ray White Marsden agent Cory Boyd set a national auction record when he took a Crestmead house to auction without a reserve late last year, with 161 registered buyers signing up for the vandalised and unlivable eyesore.
It sold under the hammer for $494,700.
“That one was crazy with people making lots of offers before the auction,” he said.
“But really, the one that stood out was a buyer who offered me a Zinger box to take it off the market which was random.”
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This Mount Isa house is for sale for $85,000
And it is no wonder buyers are getting desperate, with a home in Brisbane’s inner ring now fetching a median price of $1.71 million, up from $170,000 in 1994.
The latest PropTrack’s Housing Affordability Index revealed that housing affordability was now at the “worst level on record”.
PropTrack senior economist Paul Ryan said the decline was the result of continued high mortgage rates at levels last seen in 2011, combined with home price growth equivalent to a $50,000 increase in the national median home price over the past 12 months.
“There has been a rapid decline in affordability in just a few years,” he said.
“A median income household – earning just over $112,000 a year – can afford to purchase just 14 per cent of homes sold across the country.
“That’s a sharp fall from just three years ago, when this figure was 43 per cent of homes.”
This Hughenden house could be yours for $90,000
And the rising cost of living is making it even harder for buyers, with Canstar’s 2024 First Home Buyer Survey revealing it has become even harder to save for a deposit.
It found that of the almost 1000 Aussies saving for their first home, they are setting aside, on average, $724 a month toward the purchase of their first property, which is less than half of what they were saving in 2023.
“It’s hugely concerning but by no means surprising first home buyers are saving less than half of what they were just 12 months ago,” Canstar data insights director Sally Tindall said.
“The rising cost of everyday essentials impacts us all, but it’s making it especially difficult for first home buyers trying to get ahead.
“Add on top of this rising property prices, rising rates and rising rents and it’s incredible to think 10,000 first home buyers are making it into the market each month.”
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HOME VALUES 1994 AND NOW
Brisbane East $122,000 $950,000
Brisbane North $124,000 $1,022,750
Brisbane South $132,000 $1,250,000
Brisbane West $152,000 $1,250,000
Brisbane Inner City $170,000 $1,710,000
Cairns $115,000 $590,000
Gold Coast $148,900 $1,160,000
Ipswich $75,000 $691,000
Logan-Beaudesert $90,000 $749,000
Mackay-Isaac-Whitsunday $92,000 $510,000
Moreton Bay North $86,000 $765,000
Moreton Bay South $107,500 $855,000
Sunshine Coast $116,000 $1,080,000
Toowoomba $90,000 $645,000
Townsville $97,000 $476,000
Greater Brisbane $114,000 $870,000
(Source: PropTrack)
It is grim pickings
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