A double-storey home on a large block, with beautiful river views, that's walking distance to the CBD – all for under $300,000.
It might seem too good to be true in today's real estate climate.
But it's a reality for Tania Wissemann, who bought her Rockhampton home earlier this year for just $289,000.
"I actually couldn't believe it," she said.
"When I walked in it felt like home and I just had this beautiful view to wake up to."
That affordability came with a catch.
The home Ms Wissemann bought is in Depot Hill, a suburb notorious for flooding.
After a summer of floods and the declaration of another La Niña, the idea of buying a house in a flood zone may seem absurd.
But property experts in central Queensland said it's an increasing trend as more buyers try to break into the market.
Affordable price worth the risk
Ms Wissemann said she was hesitant at first but after researching and speaking with the former home owners, she decided the river views and price were worth the risk.
"Just the view straightaway, it just struck me and I thought, 'Wow, I could really see myself living here'," Ms Wissemann said.
"I really thought I was going to head up into the $300Ks to find anything decent that I wanted."
Ms Wissemann said the former owners lived through five floods and had made flood-resilient modifications to the home.
"They've actually put all the electrics and all the power up high … even underneath the house, all the power points are up high so they can't be touched by floodwater," she said.
"They've put platforms underneath where you can just raise up furniture and so forth.
"The whole area underneath is built so it can just be hosed out … and they said it took less than half a day to clean up after a flood so I thought for the amount of risk, compared to a lovely lifestyle on the river, it negated it."
Ms Wissemann found she could get flood cover but it came at a very high premium.
She said given her house was designed to withstand flooding, she ended up opting for an insurance policy that didn't include flood cover at all.
"I don't actually need it, there's nothing here that can get damaged except for maybe my garden," Ms Wissemann said.
"I just accept that I'm living in that kind of area.
"So that brought the premium down by about $800 a month. It was a huge, huge difference."
Local knowledge key for buyers
Real Estate Institute of Queensland zone chairman Noel Livingston said Ms Wissemann was one of many choosing Depot Hill over other parts of the city in the current market.
It's being reflected in the market, too, with property prices rising by 42.6 per cent since 2020 according to data from CoreLogic.
"The way prices have increased across the board, the cost of renting is becoming really prohibitive to some people so low-cost housing is becoming very much a flavour around town," Mr Livingston said.
The Fitzroy River, which flows through the city of Rockhampton, is one of the largest catchments on the east coast of Australia.
In a flood mapping report, the Rockhampton Regional Council said due to its immense size and fan-like shape, the Fitzroy River catchment was capable of producing severe flooding following heavy rainfall events in its major tributaries.
When the Fitzroy River floods, it can be slow moving and residents said they often got a few days' to a week's notice to prepare their properties and evacuate if needed.
It's this knowledge Mr Livingston said locals relied on when buying in the suburb.
"We all know Depot Hill has some flood issues but … we know the levels floods are going to reach a high within a week," he said.
"It really becomes a good option for those where Depot Hill is within their price bracket."
Ms Wissemann said she had lived through a Rockhampton flood and knew "what the river does, what happens to the town".
"So I was lucky enough to have that hindsight as well," she said.
Research a must
The Insurance Council of Australia warned those buying in a flood zone should do plenty of research and consider all insurance options.
ICA chief operating officer Kylie Macfarlane said it was important people understood the risks of buying such a property.
"This involves potentially speaking to your local council to understand what kind of flood risk is relevant for the property that you're looking to buy," she said.
"Also understand what the costs associated with owning that property would be and one of those costs, obviously, is the price of insurance."
The Insurance Council of Australia urged anyone considering not insuring their property for flood to ensure they had made disaster-resilient modifications to their property.
"People need to think carefully about the kind of insurance cover they need when they're buying a home that is going to be subject to extreme weather, like flood," Ms Macfarlane said.
"If you're choosing to opt out of flood cover, then make sure you've thought about the different mitigation and resilience options that you can build into your property to ensure that the risk of flood and the risks of damage to your property are reduced as much as possible."
