Ballan spaceship home hits market for $1.45 million

It looks like something you would see in a science-fiction movie.

This spaceship-looking alien home, called The Dome, has become a bizarre local attraction in Ballan in Victoria, Australia, a small town about 80km northwest of Melbourne, now it is up for sale.

Dubbed by locals as the "igloo", the "spaceship", and even the "Teletubbies house", it was built in 2008 by Tony Clarke, a migration agent, who attended a DIY dome-building course in Texas in 2001. Dome structures are known to extremely energy efficient and weatherproof, often being used as hurricane or earthquake shelters.

"There is no other house like it in Australia. They can withstand tornadoes, earthquakes, bushfires and termites," Clarke told the Herald Sun last year.

"You hear about weatherboard houses burning down. Every time you see a natural calamity someone has had their house ripped to pieces."

Clarke's dome home sits on 5.66 acres of land and features six bedrooms, five bathrooms and five living areas, including the kitchen.

The house uses wind and solar energy for electricity, but has a diesel back up, and has a gas connection. And because of its unique construction, selling agents Real Private claim heating use is about a third of a normal house.

According to its online listing, The Dome would suit a large family or bed and breakfast. It is on the market for $1.45 million (NZ$1.52).

"All the tourists like it - it creates half the tourism for the town," Clarke told the Herald Sun.