In the market for a property in the up and coming Peckham district of South London?
It would seem that the once rundown industrial hub has found a new lease of life. The historical area has seen one of its most astounding bids for a property to date, as a rundown shack has sold for close to $1,254,000 at auction. This has many people screaming for more, as the property market in the area is slated as an investment hotspot.
The council-owned building, which was part of their property portfolio, went to auction with Savills. With a starting bid of $740,000, the property drew a lot of interest. The building has no toilet, three bedrooms, and an entrance hall. It sold for $1,153,680. The money raised from the auction will be put into a housing project run by Southwark Council, who were extremely pleased with the sale. This comes with a number of other properties which also went on sale, most being described as way past their sell-by date.
The 1950s bungalow situated on 0.6 acres of land in Peckham contains three rooms, a kitchen and unfitted bathroom. https://t.co/m7llNdP6ZW
— Victor Michael (@VictorMichaelEA) November 5, 2015
Once bidding opened at $750,000 a flurry of bids saw it go under the hammer at $1,254,000. According to Chris Coleman-Smith, head of Savills Auctions, people were not messing around. The property drew a lot of interest, and the owner will look to capitalize on the area’s up-and-coming status for a return on their investment. The property, however, will need to be renovated before it can be lived in again. Its last tenants left in 2002 and the property comes without planning permission. This did not deter bidders, who seemed to want property in an area that has drawn a lot of attention recently. This specific property is on the corner of Costa Street and McDermott Road and is described as a real fixer-upper. This is a shocker, though, as another property along the same road sold recently for less than half the price ($500,000).
Be that as it may, the resurgence in the area has given Southwark Council added funds for their refurbishing and improvements project. The council plans to auction off more of its costly stock to raise revenue for its housing project – a project which is set to see millions invested into building 11,000 or more new homes. The counselor for housing, Richard Livingstone, said that more would be invested into current stock as well, as there is a need to make the properties hospitable, dry, warm, and safe. There was also stock which needed new kitchens and bathrooms. The bungalow which was sold had become too costly to maintain, and selling it seemed a better option.
The cost of repair and upkeep had been sky-rocketing, forcing the council to sell it. Southwark Council has confirmed that it already has an investment strategy in place. It hopes that more of its older stock, which is too costly to maintain, will sell as well.
the £1m land sat beneath a prefab bungalow in peckham. pic.twitter.com/OWLVDc82Qp
— alex r-t (@alexrhystaylor) November 11, 2015
Richard Livingstone confirmed the upkeep had become exorbitant. He also expressed that the council was extremely pleased with the sale, Evening Standard reported.
The house in Peckham is not the only highly priced property in the capital with a truly tiny house in Twickenham on the market for $375,000 and another council flat for sale at $1,400,000 in South Kensington. Hopefully, their new owners will see a profit on their investment at some point.