Brutally honest real estate listing stuns Aussie home buyers
A Queensland property advertisement has left readers in stitches, but also alludes to a growing problem.
Queensland home buyers have been left with their jaws on the floor after coming across a property listing unlike any they'd seen before. The advertisement for a two-bedroom apartment in the Cairns suburb of Manunda raised eyebrows with its refreshingly honest description, which reads more like a savage take-down of the neighbouring residents.
The Alfred Street property is described online as a "war zone bunker" and the list of features includes free performances by "residents screaming and fighting". Other selling points include a "huge balcony with commanding view over battlefield" and "territorial marking in stairwell (urine)".
The business behind the listing is Sydney-based RentBetter, which specialises in investment properties and is self-described as "a leading disruptor in the Australian residential real estate market". While the agency's other listings appear to more conventional, this one also highlights "artworks" in the carpark of the property, which is actually graffiti, and notes that the top-floor position of the apartment is "strategic high ground".
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"You wouldn't want to live there yourself but the return on investment is good. Who knows what the future holds — perhaps a foreign power will take over this godforsaken place and enforce some rule of law over ALL inhabitants," the listing concludes.
Locals see funny side
Cairns local Shelley Griffiths told Yahoo News she was stunned to discover the unusual ad while searching for a new home. "I was looking through realestate.com.au and came across it and literally couldn't believe what I read, thought it was hilarious and had to share it," she said.
Ms Griffiths shared the listing with her friend Avalon Gardner, who lives in Manunda and also couldn't help but laugh at what she read. "Shelley emailed it to me and said to read the description. It's pretty classic for Cairns," Ms Gardner said. "At least they're honest and you know what you're in for."
"My first reaction was to find out what real estate business posted it, as I love seeing the faces at the bottom to see what guy or girl had a real bad day and let it rip," Ms Gardner added, however she was disappointed to find only the agency's name on the listing.
The two-bedroom, two-bathroom apartment is on the market for $250,000, and despite the well-known local adage of "don't buy in the M suburbs in Cairns", recent sales results suggest there is growing interest in the area. The median price for a unit in Manunda is $197,000, a 14.2 per cent rise over five years, while the median price for houses is $450,000, a spike of around 17 per cent in under two years.
Rising crime in region
While the tongue-in-cheek listing has amused Queenslanders, it's also indicative of a growing crime problem in the state's far north. The number of unlawful entry offences in the region more than doubled between 2020 and 2022 according to research conducted by state police, with robberies and property damage incidents increasing in the same duration. A spike in youth crime is of particular concern, with the government looking to build a new detention centre in Cairns to tackle the issue.
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