Add Category
A house in the small South Australian town of Mount Burr has sold for $425,000 — a record for the location and almost 10 times what the property sold for in 1999.
The agent behind the sale says increasing property prices across the wider South East region have given people more confidence to invest in places like Mount Burr and particularly to renovate homes in small towns that have had depressed economies for a long time.
The wooden three-bedroom cottage is situated on a street lined by tall trees and has views to the nearby pine forest.
It sold for $45,000 in 1999 and for $230,000 in 2022.
The previous owners then did major renovations on it.
The house has been renovated inside and out. (Supplied: South East Property Sales and Management)
With house sales in South Australia's South East up 10.7 per cent on the year before, according to PropTrack, and up 78 per cent since March 2020 to an average of $494,000, agent Deon Howell said people were confident in doing renovations, even in small towns.
"If we were to look at pre-COVID, there was no confidence in the town, so no-one was keen to do a lot to their homes for fear of over-capitalising," Mr Howell said.
"There's confidence in the market there now, so people are happy to spend money on the homes [because] they'll get the actual benefit for that when they sell it."
About 380 people live in Mount Burr, which is about 11 kilometres north-east of Millicent.
Autumn leaves in Ingram Street. (Supplied: Bronwyn D'Aniello)
Reversal of fortunes
With only a few houses sold each year in Mount Burr, an average sale price is hard to calculate, but most properties sold for less than $100,000 before 2020.
The houses are almost all built out of wood rather than brick or stone, which are more typical in South Australia. Mr Howell said this was appealing to buyers from Victoria and NSW.
Mount Burr was founded in 1931 when the South Australian government decided to open its own timber mill in the area and build houses for the workers.
The Mount Burr mill in 1949. (Supplied: State Library of South Australia/Government Photolithographer)
The mill closed in 2000 leaving many of the townspeople unemployed.
The state government sold the houses it owned to residents at low prices.
"Obviously when the mill shut … the town did fall into sort of disrepair," Mr Howell said.
"There were a lot of empty homes, there were a lot of people living out there quite cheaply, [but] as things have progressed and as that confidence has come into the town, people are spending money and creating these beautiful properties where they're getting these amazing prices," he said.
A second home in Mount Burr is under offer at $319,000, while a third is for sale for between $275,000 and $299,000.
Mount Burr is a short drive to Millicent and not far from Mount Gambier or Penola. (ABC South East SA: Bec Whetham)
People making trails to town
Dianne Gordon moved to Mount Burr nine years ago and created the recently opened Mount Burr History Walk.
It is the third route around the town to be built as part of the Mount Burr Trails with the other two heading into native bushland.
Ms Gordon said the walks were bringing more people to the town to notice its natural setting and then people were staying after to dine on American cuisine at the well-known general store.
Uncle Doug Nicholls welcomes Millicent High School students to the meeting circle at the Mount Burr Trails. (Supplied: Mount Burr Trails)
"I think the trails have created an interest and people, if they are thinking of buying, can see that there are these beautiful trails around town and that it's a clean little, tidy town," she said.
"George and Rosie at the shop have done great things there in promoting the American dining experience, so there's a lot of interest in Mount Burr."
Ms Gordon said the recent record sale was a welcome surprise.
"We all thought: 'Tell them they're dreaming', but they got it — so there's a lot of interest," she said.