Is this Australia’s cheapest house? Property sells for $80,000 – but there’s a major catch

One of Australia’s cheapest homes has gone under the hammer for just $80,000. 

But before the new owners celebrate, they’ll need to clear the piles of junk left behind by the former owner, a known hoarder, in every room of the house. 

The 1,242sqm property in regional Victoria, advertised as ‘Grand Designs meets Hoarders’, would likely have sold for more if buyers had bid against each other.

However, Ray White Mildura’s Brett Driscoll told realestate.com.au the owner decided to accept a modest offer from a first-home-buyer couple. 

The three-bedroom home in Nandaly, a small farming community almost 400km northwest of Melbourne, first hit the market for $59,000 last year. 

It quickly received 100 offers, which Mr Driscoll described as ‘crazy’. 

‘I was getting 50 calls a day, plus emails at its peak,’ the agent said. 

Some of the items left on the property included a caravan and several old cars.

The couple were encouraged to sell the items to help with the clean-up costs.

The rooms and kitchen were also piled high with junk, including old and broken furniture, electronics, documents and food supplies. 

In the kitchen, a packet of biscuits and a jar of peanut butter were left on the bench.

Real Estate Institute of Australia President Jacob Caine said he was ‘gobsmacked’ the property sold for less than $100,000, let alone $80,000. 

He said it was rare to see a vendor accept an offer over a bidding war. 

‘You do hear of it, but they are the once in the blue-moon deals where a benevolent vendor decides to forgo maximising their return and instead makes it a generous act to the buying public,’ Mr Caine said.   

The property has three bedrooms, one bathroom and two car spaces.

It was sold for $42,000 in 2003 and $15,000 in 2001.

Nandaly had a population of just 30 people in the 2021 Census. 

It is home to a post office, a hotel, a Catholic church, a local reservoir, a grain shed, golf course and recreation reserve.