$3.8 Million Sold for Dilapidated Sydney Terrace Home in Urgent Need of Renovation

A dilapidated home in the heart of Sydney has sold for an astounding $3.8 million, despite needing a multi-million dollar facelift.

The four-bedroom terrace home on Windsor St in Paddington was on the market for $3.4 million, but a competitive auction meant it sold well above the reserve price.

“It was prime position, prime piece of real estate, great suburb, great location. Ticks a lot of boxes,” Montana real estate agent John Cannizzaro said.

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“Windsor St is considered to be one of Paddington’s best streets so that in itself helped sell the property,” he said.

The 147 square metre home was owned by the same family for over 70 years.

It’s about 3 km from Sydney’s central business district and several streets away from the popular Paddington Markets on the busy Oxford St.

It fetched the eye-watering sum despite its extremely shoddy condition: the online advertisement warned that the property was unsafe to inspect, and interested buyers had to enter at their own risk.

Pictures of the property show outdated kitchen cabinetry, wallpaper and light fixtures.

Before being mostly cleared out, the home was packed with clutter.

But with high ceilings, fireplaces, decorative mouldings and a balcony, the property had the potential to become a beautiful family home if the new owner was willing to spend between $1 to $2 million dollars on it, Cannizzaro said.

He said when the home’s most recent owner died, the man’s children intended to renovate the place, but ultimately, they ended up selling it, after realising how much work it would take.

About eight people were at the auction on Saturday, July 15 — most of them developers interested in renovating and re-selling the house.

Cannizzaro said in the end, the home sold to a young family.