Soaring demand for Mullaloo $1.1 million property shows market still hot

An astonishing 500 people attended two home opens in beachside Mullaloo for a dilapidated home, in a sign of the record low listings and the hot market.

The double-storey Korella St home does not have properly working plumbing or electricity, and the toilets don’t flush, among other problems that have developed in the past three years that it has been empty.

But real estate agent David Snell, from One Agency, said prospective buyers — many owner-occupiers desperate for a place to live — were not deterred, partly because of the lack of alternative options.

CoreLogic data shows that there are 9557 current total listings in Perth, which is a 25 per cent drop from last year — and 45 per cent lower than the five-year average.

Mr Snell would not reveal the value of the offers, but in a sign of the magnitude of the bids, he lifted the minimum price by $100,000 to $1.1 million after the first home open.

“There are many problems with this house, including weevils in the carpet,” he said. “You can actually see them moving around,” he said.

He said nearly 300 people attended the first home open, prompting 15 offers, many from owner-occupiers.

Nearly 200 more people attended a second inspection on Saturday prompting another 10 offers. He said many east coast investors joined in the home open online.

In quieter markets, renovator delights sometimes struggle to attract anyone to an inspection.

Mr Snell said another trend he had noticed from desperate buyers was that some were resorting to adding personal pleas with their written offers.

It appears to follow a trend in some parts of the US, where potential buyers write letters to the sellers explaining why their offer should be chosen.

Mr Snell said the personal touch sometimes worked in the bidder’s favour.

“I had one family write a a few lines on their offer saying they had been looking for a house in the area for five years, before they had children, and that they now have two children but still hadn’t managed to find a home,” she said.

He said the seller opted for this family’s offer over an east coast investor who had offered a similar amount.