67 Gipps Street, Carrington 'not for first home buyers'

Dating back to the 1880s, the two-bedroom terrace at 67 Gipps Street, Carrington, in Newcastle in NSW's Hunter Valley, has been abandoned for the best part of seven years.

Ray White Newcastle and Lake Macquarie's Brett Bailey said while the building was structurally sound, the home was in dire need of renovation.

A knockdown-rebuild is not practical due to the attached nature of the property.

"We've targeted our marketing campaign at experienced renovators and professional builders," Mr Bailey said.

"Despite that, this has been the most enquired-upon property Ray White Newcastle and Lake Macquarie have had for the last couple of weeks."

The property has had two owners since it was last occupied, most recently selling to a professional renovator in July 2020 for $465,000.

Fifteen months on, as its owner moves back to Western Australia, it will go to auction with a guide of $590,000.

IN OTHER NEWS:

The removal of the kitchen sink and the cordoning off of the front verandah, which is rotting away, are the only changes that have been made in that time.

Mr Bailey estimates that a $350,000 restoration and extension would raise the property's value to between $1.2 million and $1.3 million.

"You'd find that if this house were in liveable condition - say just rentable - that property would be worth in the current market at least $850,000," he said.

"And in order to renovate that property, you'd need to do the same amount of work as if you bought it like this.

"So at that $590,000 guide it actually represents good value if you're willing to take it the whole way.

"What's here is quite usable - the building materials and building techniques they used back at the time in these properties are virtually all brick and hardwood, so they're surprisingly tough."

The 107 square metre property is part of a set of seven terraces on Gipps Street, and the last to be renovated.

Four of those terraces have sold in the past four years for prices between $560,000 and $740,000, while a freestanding terrace at 53 Gipps Street sold for $1.26 million in April.

Mr Bailey said the terrace at 67 Gipps Street had received plenty of interest from Carrington-based developers.

It will got under the hammer in an online auction at 4.30pm Tuesday.