Australia's cheapest house? $20,000 property listed in Norseman, WA

Ready to roll up your sleeves? For $20,000, buyers need only bring their ideas and a toolbelt.

This affordable property on 1012 square metres in the goldfields town of Norseman, Western Australia, is the ultimate project. 

There is moss growing in the kitchen at 118 Goodliffe Street, and “skylights” have opened up in the roof, jokes agent Robert Gilmore from First National Real Estate Kalgoorlie.

However, this type of house is being eagerly snapped up by miners and tradies who are handy and confident with a rebuild. The price guide on this one is less than the cost of a new hatchback. 

The outback town of Norseman is two hours south of Kalgoorlie, and two hours north of Esperance, in the Goldfields-Esperance region.

Gold mining brings buyers to the area, but investors are also in the hunt for properties with good rental returns, Gilmore says.

Workers can stay in mining camps, he says, but often prefer their own property. Given that vacancy rates are very tight, affordable properties are hot commodities. 

“It puts pressure on local buyers, and that makes them want to get out of the rental market more and own their own home,” he says, “so it keeps compounding.”

There is strong demand here for bargain houses that are offered for their land value and require a complete update. They are relocatable dwellings, which provides some flexibility for what buyers can do with them.

“I get a lot of enquiries on these because people who are stuck renting can own their own home,” Gilmore says. “This one does need immediate work … you couldn’t live in it without doing some work to bring it to a level of comfort. Hopefully, the shell is in some sort of condition where the buyer can have a big win.

“I’ve sold a lot of these for this particular vendor. This is probably one that is in the worst condition, although we did sell one where the roof had blown off. A farmer bought that, put it all back together and fixed it up, brought it up to code, and he was really happy with it, because it was obviously selling extremely cheap.”

$20,000

118 Goodliffe Street, Norseman WA 6443

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There is no median house price data available for Norseman, but other major cities and towns in the region have been strong performers. Kalgoorlie-Boulder’s median house price has risen 21.9 per cent over five years, and Esperance’s has increased by 52.2 per cent over the same period.

At the other end of the scale, for buyers with some cash to splash, Gilmore has listed a $5.5 million industrial estate with a family home and a desert-style pool in Binduli, minutes from the heart of Kalgoorlie.

$5,500,000

317 Hall Road, Binduli WA 6430

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For an enterprising buyer, 317 Hall Road has general industry zoning and includes a 130-square-metre shed, large storage domes, a self-contained single-bedroom apartment, and a character-filled weatherboard homestead with timber floors, leadlight windows and sunny entertaining areas. 

“If you were early in your company’s growth phase, and wanted a workshop somewhere near home, it’s ideal,” Gilmore says. 

Houses for sale right now in Kalgoorlie, WA

From $649,000

10 Geoffrey Stokes Parade, Kalgoorlie WA 6430

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This family-sized, double-storey home backs onto the Kalgoorlie racecourse. The new owner can kick back with a beverage and watch the horses thunder past from the shaded rear deck.

$789,000

42 Victoria Street, Kalgoorlie WA 6430

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This handsome stone property represents the height of the city’s gold boom. Built in 1897, it still has much of its character, but has been gently improved for modern life.

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4 Rhodes Street, Kalgoorlie WA 6430

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With three bedrooms in the main house and a fourth bedroom off the front verandah, this $319,000 property could be a source of rental income.