Into the jungle: An abandoned Sydney home was reclaimed by nature and is now set to go under the hammer with a $1.7 million starting price take a look inside
- An abandoned Sydney home is set to be auctioned with a guide price of $2.5 million Australian dollars, or $1.7 million.
- The 2,906-square-foot property has been empty for seven years and is overrun with plants.
An abandoned Sydney home overrun by plants is set to be auctioned with a guide price of 2.5 million Australian dollars, or $1.7 million.
What's more surprising: The house's appearance, or its hefty price tag?
Located on a quiet back street in Redfern — an inner suburb of Sydney in Australia — the abandoned property has been completely reclaimed by nature, listing photos show.
The house itself is barely visible under all that foliage; Nearly every exterior surface is covered by overgrown vines.
The two-bedroom house has been abandoned for seven years, listing agent Shannan Whitney told Insider.
The current owner bought the house in April 2000 for 645,000 Australian dollars, per property listing history.
And according to Whitney, the owner did live in the house at one point in time before he had to leave for personal reasons.
"COVID was a factor in his not being able to return to Australia," Whitney said, adding that the owner has since relocated overseas.
The house dates back to 1985 and was originally constructed for a prominent Australian artist by the name of Peter Powditch, Whitney said.
Powditch was part of the Australian Pop Art movement and was primarily known for his work depicting female forms.
He was also an art educator, teaching at institutions such as the Sydney College of the Arts and the University of New South Wales College of Fine Arts, per his biography on Design & Art Australia Online, an open-source scholarly database that links biographical data about Australian artists.
Powditch died in February 2022 from respiratory disease, per his obituary in the Sydney Morning Herald.
Despite the eyewatering price tag, the house "is not habitable in its current condition," Whitney said.
While there are some personal items and furniture left behind by the current owner, the property requires much work, since it is "well past its prime," per the listing.
Vines have also started to creep across the ceilings in one room, and there's even a hole in the wall where the plants have broken through, photos show.
"This will likely attract a buyer who will do a full rebuild rather than a renovation," Whitney said. "We're talking with owner-occupiers, builders, and developers who are looking for opportunities of this scale and scope."
Unlike the other houses in the area, the 2,906-square-foot property is not under any heritage limitations that might restrict what the next owner can do to the home, Whitney said.
"This is a rare opportunity in urban communities like Redfern, which is largely made up of early-century Victorian architecture in the form of terrace houses," Whitney said.
Since the property falls outside of the boundaries of the Redfern Estate Heritage Conservation Area, where the original Victorian architecture needs to be maintained, the next owners aren't limited in terms of their build.
Whoever buys the property also has a chance to build — subject to the city's approval — a multi-house development, per the listing.
"The owner is hopeful a new owner can restore the place to its former glory and utilize the incredible potential of the property and location," Whitney said.
Redfern is about a 15-minute drive to Sydney's Central Business District, per Google Maps.
The abandoned property is set to go under the hammer on June 24, per the listing.
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