Inside The Auckland 'Hovel' That Just Sold For $3.1 Million

A derelict four bedroom villa in Freemans Bay has sold under the hammer for a jaw-dropping $3.1 million.

The deserted property at 12 Anglesea St was the subject of a bidding war at the on-site auction on Saturday with 10 interested parties and just $5000 securing the winning bid.

The sale price is close to double the $1.79m capital valuation of the four bedroom, one bathroom run-down villa. The land value represents a whopping $1.73m of the property's overall valuation.

The new owners who are from Auckland planned to completely renovate the heritage-protected property before moving in with their family.

"This turn-of-the-century villa offers a blank canvas for you to design and create your dream home on one of the larger sites available in this desirable location," the online advertisement said.

It was the first time the deceased estate had been on the market in almost 60 years and it had just been used for storage in the past 10 years.

Barfoot & Thompson marketing agent Lucia Pereira said it was a fantastic price for "an unlivable property".

She said property's in such popular locations like Freemans Bay were hard to come by especially on a 650sq metre section, which was considered quite large for the area.

"There was quite a lot of people that wanted it... We knew that because there was such good interest coming in it was going to fetch a good price, but we didn't realise it was going to be that high."

Ms Pereira said the new owners knew what they were doing and it would be restored to be "an amazing property again".

Freemans Bay is on the city fringe and only a short walk to the cafes, bars and shops on Ponsonby Road.

- NZ Herald