Snowtown’s abandoned buildings are going cheap

The name Snowtown might send a shiver down the spine of some Australians, but the rural community 145km north of Adelaide is a welcome base for those who call it home.

Struggling through a lack of industry common to country South Australia, there are more pressing concerns than the brutal murders it became synonymous with 20 years ago.

“It hasn’t been held back by that … the actual fact is, country South Australia is a pretty tough gig at the moment anywhere,” NYP agent Brenton Brind told the Herald Sun.

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“And the smaller the country town, the harder it is to sell. There’s no industry, the smaller towns are going by the wayside, bigger towns seem to hold their own, but even in Kadina (about 55km southwest of Snowtown), and bigger towns, there are empty shops.”

Brind has just sold the disused Snowtown Scout Hall on 1011sq m in a rare “site unseen” sale to an interstate investor for “a little bit less” than its $34,900 price tag.

Inside the old scout hall.

“The market is pretty tough there,” the Kadina-based agent said.

“I’ve got another two, and one we’re getting a lot of looks at, but it’s starting to get into disrepair, and the other we’re not getting a look in and it’s under $100,000.”

He noted recent well reported city property booms weren’t reflective of what was going on in his country patch north of Adelaide, where there had been little if any price movement since the global financial crisis more than a decade ago.

“The actual country isn’t as good as they make it out to be, and there’s no assistance there for the first-home owners — it is tough. It’s not diabolical, but it is tough,” Mr Brind said, suggesting removing stamp duty for first-home buyers in South Australia — as the Victorian state government has done — would be helpful.

And Victorians had been notably active inquiring about Snowtown properties recently, Brind said.

In 2012, Melbourne couple Rob Vanderveen and Kryss Black bought the Railway Tce East property where eight dismembered bodies were found in six barrels inside the vault of the disused bank in 1999. They paid about $185,000 and moved in to an adjoining house the next year.

Rob Vanderveen and Kryss Black out the front of the infamous Snowtown bank in 2014. Picture: Tait Schmaal.

The town has affordable properties buyers can take advantage of. Picture: Tait Schmaal

Vanderveen told The Advertiser in 2013 they were seeking a change from the hustle and bustle of Melbourne when they settled on the old bank, and were unfazed by the grim history.

“It was 15 years ago,” Vanderveen said at the time.

“The tourists do still keep coming past and they get out and take photos.

“Other than that though, the house is just a house.”

Professionals Clare principal Tim Edwards said it was those seeking affordability that were attracted to Snowtown, where he’s listed a former church building on 2020sq m for $25,000.

“It was a church there originally and that got blown down in a storm, and this was the Sunday school area, and they then used this as their church, it was the local Anglican Church, he said.

“They now cross over with one of the other churches, so it’s surplus to requirement.”

Infrastructure including a hospital and aged-care facility were among the local drawcards for a retiree-heavy buyer pool active in the area.

The former church building in Second St.

Makeshift mass.

People use it as a place to base themselves and then head off on their caravan journeys, that type of thing,” Edwards said.

“There’s not a lot of young ones, but it’s mainly sort of young people looking for that affordability (when they do buy) — they get a lot of house, bang for their buck … it doesn’t matter what the property is, there’s always a buyer and someone will take the opportunity.

“I think people see value for money and retirees who don’t need to have work and that sort of thing, they’ll make benefit of it.”

He said the infamous murders linked to the town “gets brought up” but “it’s not a non-buying decision or anything, it’s one of those things people have moved well on from”.

This former laundromat on Fourth St has also been for sale for $11,000.

Ruralco Clare director Rob Calaby is handling the sale of a dilapidated laundromat on 1166sqm in the centre of town, priced at just $11,000 and under contract, but declined to comment.

With seven properties sold in the year to March, there weren’t enough sales for a median house price, but “$90,000” would get you a “good house”, according to Brind.

“The investment is going to get you back $200 in rent a week, you don’t get the capital growth, but you get that rental income,” he said.

Towns like Snowtown were proud sporting communities, with sports facilities and services among the drawcards to the area.

Curious tourists on their way up to the Nullarbor and over to Perth might just snag a bargain.

This article from the Herald Sun originally appeared as “Snowtown abandoned buildings for sale for as little as $11,000”.