The Australian town that costs less than an Auckland house

The tiny town sits on 16 hectares and is home to 16 Queenslander-style homes. Photo: www.realestate.com.au/

Can't afford a house in Auckland's skyrocketing market? Why not buy an entire town in Australia.

The settlement of Allies Creek, nearly 400km northwest of Brisbane - or a five-hour drive - is for sale and has a price tag of $805,789.

That would barely buy you a small home in a central Auckland suburb or on the North Shore, where the median prices were $900,000 and $1.05 million respectively last month.

The tiny town was used as a saw milling camp until 2008 when it was closed by the Anna Bligh government after changes to forestry practices.

It sits on 16 hectares and is home to 16 Queenslander-style homes - all with their own sections and fenced - street lights, a water purification treatment plant, a power depot, a town hall and old school house.

There's also a dam with its own pontoon and walk out bridge and private canopy.

The town was reportedly bought by a couple in 2008, and they'd put it on the market for $2.1 million in September. Photo: http://www.realestate.com.au

Some of the homes are tenanted and the listing by Sutton Nationwide Realty says the new owner will be "raking in rental income NOW!!!!"

"The property is a decommissioned saw mill with massive timber framed and trussed open sheds that you could do anything with," it reads.

"Hold picnic days, club functions big enough to have dances in. Perfect for any idea you could possibly come up with.

"Perfect for caravan park, conference centre, retreat, church, private camps ready for the like-minded organisations.

"If you want privacy, you could not get better."

It's surrounded by Allies Creek State Forest, an area of about around 65,000 hectares.

The town was bought in 2008 by Natali Williams and her late husband.

She told the Courier Mail it was "an accident".

Some of the homes are tenanted and the listing by Sutton Nationwide Realty says the new owner will be "raking in rental income NOW!!!!". Photo: www.realestate.com.au

"We went to look at a bit of machinery and we ending up buying the whole town," she said.

"It was a bit of an accident that we bought the place but I'm so glad we did.

"It's a very quiet lifestyle out here. We love it."

The family - including son Roger, 5 - moved to the town and several tenants moved there for the affordable rents and country lifestyle.

They put it on the market for $2.1 million in September. The price was slashed after the death of Mrs Willima's husband.

Real estate agent Julie Sutton said she had received about a dozen serious expressions of interest.

"It's only been used as a place for rental income so far, but it's a complete small town with all the roads made, including a hall for functions," she told Mashable Australia.

"There's just so much that's possible," she said.

See a Google Map of Allies Creek here: