A DILAPIDATED house on the fringe of the inner-city in Wickham attracted a swarm of buyers at auction on Saturday.
Demand for the bargain-priced property at 58 Bishopsgate Street drew 20 registered bidders who were looking at the property as a knockdown rebuild or renovation project.
The property was listed with a guide of $500,000 to $550,000.
Presence Real Estate listing agent Matt Thompson said the location of the property and the low price point attracted buyers despite its flaws.
Positioned close to the Newcastle Interchange and Newcastle Harbour, the 100-year-old three-bedroom home on 177 square metres had an auction reserve of $450,000.
It sold under the hammer for $593,000 which is significantly lower than Wickham's median house value of $988,000.
"The location is probably why it gained a bit of momentum because the house itself was horrid," Mr Thompson said.
"It didn't have a bathroom, didn't have a kitchen and I couldn't take any internal photos of it because there was no electricity, so I couldn't turn the lights on.
"We got plenty of interest in it because it was a house in Wickham with no photos, so people were asking, 'How bad is it?' and I said, 'Look, it's pretty bad'."
The bidding started low at $280,000, with seven of the potential buyers actively taking part in the auction which jumped up in increments of $20,000.
It came down to two parties, including the eventual buyer who missed the start of the auction and arrived in time to place the winning bid.
"The person who bought it actually slept in and he wasn't at the auction to begin with, so we started without him," he said.
"His partner was watching the auction online and she put an offer in over the phone because they had registered and then he turned up at the last second.
"I gave him the paddle and he put the last bid in and bought it, so he got there just in time."
The agent said the buyer planned to renovate the home and resell it.
He said the result exceeded expectations.
"I knew it would have to go for at least somewhere in the $400,000 range but I didn't think anywhere near $593,000," he said.
"Earlier in the campaign I had an offer of $280,000 and then I had another say he would buy it for $380,000
"The reserve was $450,000 and I said to the owners that it wouldn't surprise me if they got $500,000 and that if it did, that's great.
"It really blew my mind."
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