Why Warrawong’s famous ‘half-house’ is now a hit on Airbnb

The owners of the famous “half-house” in Warrawong are well on their way to realising their vision for the formerly dilapidated home.

In the meantime, the renovated, one-bedroom, one-bathroom property has become a popular rental on Airbnb.

It’s been listed on Airbnb for nearly a year, with stays varying from a single night to a few months, and been met with positive reviews on the platform.

One visitor described it as ”a very quiet and peaceful retreat” with “shops, restaurants, bus line all close by”.

The home’s co-owner said the average stay rate was $110 per night (and a little more on weekends), but this can be discounted during a longer term, such as when a university student stayed there for a few months.

“It’s been really successful,” the owner said.

“We’ve had a diverse range of people come and stay there. A lot of them have been contractors or medical staff using Airbnb.

“We’ve kept the price at a pretty low rate to keep it accessible for people who need to stay in the area.

“We’ve had people using it so they can visit family in the hospital.

“We wanted it to be accessible to people who are coming to stay and work in the area. So because of that we’ve had really good feedback, and it’s mostly been occupied.”

The home, pictured in 2022. Picture: Supplied

The house, believed to date back to the 1950s, sold for $482,000 in 2022 after being held by the one owner for more than 25 years.

The quirky, derelict one-bedroom home attracted widespread interest when it was listed for sale.

Nobody seemed to know for sure — although internet sleuths, history buffs and jokesters were kept busy posting theories on social media — just how the post-war bungalow got split in two before finding a permanent home in a quiet, suburban street of the Illawarra.

At the time it was listed for sale, selling agent, Luke Veleski of First National Real Estate Wollongong said it attracted widespread interest, spanning from prospective buyers in Sydney, the Illawarra and South Coast.

The current owner said the novelty of staying in such a unique and recognisable property had been a drawcard for some renters.

“There have been a few people who just wanted to stay in the half-house,” he said.

“There’s an Instagram page called ‘Other People’s Homes’ that has a large following, and they posted about it. So when they posted about it, we got a bump in interest.”

The owner said they had undertaken plenty of work on the home, including fitting it out so it has a usable kitchen for cooking.

“The bedroom and living room are now working quite well, and we re-did the bathroom,” he said.

“We’ve also fitted out underneath the house, so there’s more studio space... And we re-did all the electricity, fully re-wired the house.

“We’ve re-done some of the plumbing, and shaved off the existing paint and repainted inside the home and the facade. And all the windows had to be rebuilt.”

The owner said they had plans for undertaking further modifications to the inside of the house when funds permitted.

He said the home was listed on Airbnb so they could raise money to complete that work.

“We’re trying to save up some money so we can fix up the property in a way that will be comfortable to live in full-time,” he said.

“We have an architecture practice, and the work we want to be involved in is revitalising existing housing.

“The half-house for us as architects is a really wonderful example of the work we want to be involved in.

“Which is where you don’t just knock down and rebuild to maximum floor area, but think creatively about how to enhance what’s already there, and trying to build into the character of a suburb and community.”