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News.com.au
11 hours ago
- Business
- News.com.au
‘Lost the plot': Insane price of dilapidated Sydney house
A dilapidated two-bedroom terrace in Sydney's inner-city has hit the market for a staggering $1.4 million – and it's raising more than a few eyebrows. The Erskineville property, which comes complete with 'peeling paint, crumbling brickwork, and an overhead flight path,' according to Domain, is being marketed with a straight face – and somehow, a straight price tag. The 1870s 'cottage' is said to be one-of-a-kind and holds status as one of the last remaining original Victorian terraces in the suburb. It features a rusty tin tub in the backyard with a single cold water tap that offers 'a back-to-nature bathing experience.' Whether this feels charming or more like an at-home haunted house experience, there's no doubt the property is in need of some major structural therapy. The 153 sqm property boasts the 'opportunity to build a statement home' with development approval granted to transform the terrace into a three-bedroom, two-bathroom family house. Aussie landlord Jack Henderson told that Sydney has become 'a city for the rich.' 'It's the New York of Australia, for the average young person its too expensive,' he said. The 28-year-old runs popular buyers agency Henderson Advocacy, and has amassed a $40 million dollar property empire, securing 15 investment properties. Mr Henderson believes the Erskineville property is going to be a 'very big auction.' 'It will undoubtedly go for higher. My guess is around $1.6 – 1.7 million.' The property mogul has previously divided opinions after advising Sydneysiders need to 'Be rich or don't live here.' 'If you're not rich live somewhere else. Australia's a big f**king country,' he said. 'It's a great opportunity' Residential sales expert Cameron Airlie told that despite the dilapidation, the home provided great 'opportunity for someone who has an appetite for renovation.' 'The land-size is small. It's not a huge property, and would likely cost someone close to $1 million to renovate it,' he added. 'However, despite sounding expensive, it is affordable. Terraces and semis around the area are going for two to three million dollars,' Mr Airlie said. The median property prices in the small inner-west suburb over the last year have ranged from $1,899,000 for houses to $1,100,000 for units. Last year, a first-home buyer sent shockwaves through the small suburb after securing a four-bedroom cottage for $3.22 million – five fold its last sale. So who is actually showing up to these auctions? Mr Airlie believes the demographic is broad and could range from developers looking to flip it, young couples and families trying to get into land, or even people looking to get out of strata. 'The older generation are mainly going for penthouses or downsizers whereas we're seeing a lot more of younger people getting help from the bank of mum and dad when it comes to getting a foot in the door,' he said. Naturally, social media had more than a few things to say about it. 'Sydney has lost the plot,' said one. 'I hate this city,' said another. 'Needs another two million to make it liveable,' said a third. However, others were more than impressed with the narrow terrace, branding it an 'absolute steal.' 'Imagine how nice it will be once it's restored,' said one viewer. 'will be beautiful if renovated,' chimed another. 'After a renovation it'll be worth $6 million,' speculated a third. The home is set to go auction on 21 June. Whether it fetches more than the $1.4 million guide remains to be seen – but one thing's clear: Sydney's property prices aren't peeling back anytime soon.
Daily Telegraph
29-05-2025
- Business
- Daily Telegraph
Aussie who owns more than 300 homes drops bombshell
Australia's most prolific real estate investor has dropped a bombshell. The Western Sydney-based investor, who owns more than 300 properties worth nearly a quarter of a billion dollars, has admitted that he doesn't believe his staggering holdings are enough. Nathan Birch said he was disappointed with the size of his portfolio because, having just turned 40, he is not yet a billionaire – a goal he was hoping to achieve before reaching this age. And now he wants more property. Plenty more. Mr Birch, who started his empire by snapping up large tracts of rundown homes in some of Australia's poorest city areas, said he is planning to remedy his situation with another home buying spree. The plan is to buy 100 properties in a month. MORE: Aussie fast food worker turns $40k wage into 5 homes 'I wanted to be a billionaire when I hit 40,' he said. 'That's not going to happen, but I will get to a billion at some point. 'My goal is have 10,000 properties one day. It's for grandkids. I hope that when I die, my life will be like a corporate entity.' Mr Birch added that he understood that his plans will likely divide opinion and that many would accuse him of elevating the housing crisis by snapping up homes that could be going to first-home buyers. 'I've been quiet for a while but I plan to buy much more this year,' he said. 'There will be a whole bunch of people who won't like it. Some people will say 'how dare he?' 'I've just come to accept that not everyone agrees with it … Even my mum, when I got to 200 properties, she said 'don't be stupid, don't buy more'. 'The thing is, my actions are based on numbers. This is what keeps me focused.' MORE: Aussie couple in 30s turn $60k into $153m He added that he relished the personal challenge of trying to find good investments. 'It used to be about ego,' he said. 'I used to take w*nker photos in front of cars. I became a brand in a way. 'Ten years ago, I realised that kind of stuff wouldn't improve my life. 'I've always just loved property. When I was 13, a lot of the other guys my age would look at magazines full of girls. I just paged through pictures of houses.' The investor, who grew up in a single-income household in Sydney's Mt Druitt area, once popularised as 'Struggle Street', said he did not have a huge inheritance or wealthy family to support his ventures. Mr Birch explained that he made his first investment aged 18 using money saved from various high school jobs and gradually built up his portfolio with some clever buying tactics. MORE: Cheeky way landlord gets tenant to fund travels MORE: Aussie landlord's horror after 12 homes stolen He later established a highly successful buyer's agency and property management business that supported his investments. 'If you include everything for clients, I've bought about 20,000 properties,' he said. But his plan is to purchase 100 properties over a month in a similar way to how he built his property portfolio in the beginning: exploiting a banking mechanism known as leverage. HOW AN EMPIRE WAS BUILT Rather than stump up cash for each deal, he instead draws out equity from his existing properties through refinancing deals, which then fund the costs of purchasing new properties. Most of his properties are cheaper than the norm, with many bought for around the $200,000 mark. These properties usually rent for a high price relative to the cost of his loans – normally to the point where the rents cover the full costs of repayments and other ownership expenses. It's usually enough to satisfy the banks, who continue to provide him credit for his deals because the holding costs of keeping his portfolio are low relative to his income. MORE: Bold moves that got Albo $8.8m property empire MORE: Trick Aussies are using to get $200m+ mansions Another key pillar of his methods is that he targets homes in low socio-economic areas that are selling through rushed off market sales. This allows him to buy under the market value. He said buying under market value makes his loans lower risk in the eyes of lenders, but it also means he has 'instant equity' upon purchase, which he can later use to, again, leverage into the next property. Armed with these tools, Mr Birch used to be one of the most prolific property investors in the country, buying up 200 properties by the time he was 31 years old. THE DEBT POSITION He said he has slowed down in recent years and shifted his focus to snapping up large motels (paid in cash) – and he has used the profits from these businesses to pay down much of his debt. Mr Birch credited this approach to reducing the bank debt on his properties to just $16 million. He has an additional $11 million in other debts, leaving his total debt position against his properties at about $27 million. 'I've spent a lot of time restructuring my portfolio and that's why my net worth is high compared to the debt … soon I will be pulling out a lot of the equity to buy more.' MORE: Scary way Aussie went bankrupt after teacher insult Mr Birch said buying over 300 properties was not easy. 'I got to a point pre-Covid where banks wouldn't lend to me. I had to pay in cash. Over time, it caught up with me. I had to sell off a few in 2017 and 2018. I had to swap a lot of properties and there was a lot of land tax. 'That's why I got into motels – to improve my cash flow, but it crippled me. It's been a wild ride. There have been days when I vomited up food because of the stress, and I usually handle stress really well. Sometimes it gets to you.' Mr Birch said family members had tried to talk him out of growing his investments over the years, just because of how large his holdings had become. 'My mum is fearful. She was excited for the first few properties but then she said 'you'll go bankrupt'. There was some kind of Britney Spears intervention stuff. 'All this noise from people who loved me were thoughts. They weren't real. Many of my family members didn't know how all this debt stuff worked. Now my mum says 'I don't know how you do it, but you know what you are doing'.' MORE: Loophole that got club DJ $16m, 15 homes
