Morawa house in the Wheatbelt sells for just $2000 as entry-level property prices in metropolitan Perth soar

Perth’s hot property market may be on the verge of overheating but there are still some WA homes available for the less than the price of a clapped-out used car. The regions have some of the cheapest in the nation, with one selling last month for only $2000, all while buyers are struggling to get a house for under $500,000 in metropolitan Perth. The astonishingly low price paid last month for a house in Morawa, in the Wheatbelt, is equivalent to the cost of a modern mid-range TV. It comes as new data shows entry level homes in regional WA — the cheapest 25 per cent of houses sold outside of the metro area — cost a median $365,000, after a 15.9 per cent price hike over the past year. Real estate agent Tony Maddox said the Morawa bargain — which can generously be described as a fixer-upper’s dream — came after the local council seized the property from the last owner. Mr Maddox said the number of regional bargains was growing as councils took advantage of their right to seize and sell properties from those who did not pay rates for three years or more. He said the Morawa council was only too happy to sell the derelict house cheaply instead of paying to bulldoze it. The local buyer plans to renovate the property — which has a land value of about $10,000 — which Mr Maddox believes could be worth $60,000 to $80,000 upon completion. “One bidder offered $1000 and another one said I’ll give you a couple grand,” explained Mr Maddox, who ran the auction. “I said: Is that all I’m going to get? He said: ‘Yep.’ “I looked at the council CEO and said: ‘Can I sell it for that price?’ “He said: ‘Of course you can.’ “So bam, Australia’s cheapest house sold.” Mr Maddox said it was a win-win situation, because the buyer had the skills necessary to renovate the home cheaply by himself. The sale also saved the council the cost of flattening the home — which is not currently fit for habitation — and will earn it another income stream by adding a new rate payer to the market. And of course itsbenefits the town, population 575, by boosting housing supply. But while there are plenty of bargains in regional WA, it is a different story in metropolitan Perth. Landgate records of affordable house sales — excluding apartments and units — show the cheapest house to sell in the metro area last week was a $530,000 property in Gosnells. The three-bedrooms, one-bathroom house is on a 531sqm block. The price tag is a 50 per cent jump on its last sale price only 18 months ago, when it sold for $350,000. The sales coincides with new data from the Real Estate Institute of WA, which shows the dream of home ownership is getting further out of reach for many in Perth. It shows the cheapest quarter of houses increased in value by 28.8 per cent over the past year to hit a median $618,000. The buyer of the Gosnells house last week, Broden House, said he was relieved to get into the property market, even though the sale price had exceeded his preferred budget by $30,000. Mr House said he and his family first considered a move from New South Wales to Perth two years ago for his work as a pastor, and were pleased at the prospect of moving into a relatively cheap property market. But by the time he finished his university studies and made the move a year ago, the market had dramatically changed. And during a further year of renting and house hunting once they arrived in Perth entry-level homes rose by a further six-figure sum. “We moved to WA predominantly for my work, but it is ironic that one of the smaller incentives — the cheap housing market — is no longer relevant,” Mr House said. “But moving here has turned out to be a blessing.” He said he felt for future buyers who he felt would be facing an even tougher market. “We only scraped into the market,” Mr House said. “I fear for my children’s future in regards to owning property.” The father of three said that even as a double-income family, making the mortgage repayments will require some budgeting. “We will have to budget a little tighter,” he said. “It’s not easy, period.” According to Landgate, the second cheapest house sold in Perth last week offers less bang for buck. Despite being an attractive and a relatively new build, the $535,000 house has only two bedrooms and sits on a small 160sqm block of land in Butler, 43km from Perth. While there are widespread expectations that the property market will keep increasing in value — by an estimated 8 per cent in Perth in 2025 — the forecast comes with a warning. Property expert Gavin Hegney said the areas which saw the greatest east coast investor activity this year would be the most vulnerable to price stagnations or even devaluations next year. He said east coast investors were no longer targeting WA, with many likely to seek to realise a profit from the homes they had bought in cheaper outer areas such as Armadale, potentially flooding the market with new supply.