Paul Fosh Auctions
- Two derelict bungalows in Wales, UK, initially valued at 65 cents each were bought for $51,000.
- Their mountain-perched location and potential for restoration attracted 11 bidders.
- The new owner called the bungalows a "beautiful, heritage property in need of rescuing."
A pair of cottages nestled on a mountainside in Wales, UK, recently sold at auction for 40,500 times more than their initial guide price of 50p each, approximately 65 cents, Wales Online reports.
While the dilapidated structures built from corrugated tin sheets were initially valued at less than the price of a candy bar, they ultimately sold for approximately $51,000.
The zealous bidding war unfolded during an online auction conducted by Paul Fosh Auctions.
The derelict homes, called 1-2 Bank Bungalows, attracted the attention of 649 registered viewers on the auction company's website.
Of the 649 viewers, 11 vied for the chance to secure these properties, making 52 bids across two days.
Valuer Sean Rope told Sky News that pricing them at only 65 cents each "created a bit of excitement."
"It's obviously worth more than that, but in auctions, sometimes if you price them at the right level, they'll create more interest than they would have done if you'd put a normal price on them," he said.
The bungalows are attractive because of their unique strategic location perched on a mountainside, but their dilapidated state prohibited internal inspections.
The winning bidder now owns both bungalows and intends to restore and inhabit them.
"I think the cottages I've bought in Crumlin is a beautiful, heritage property in need of rescuing," the new owner, who was not named, told Wales Online.
"I was a bit perturbed by the amount of interest the auction drew, but I was very definite about what they were worth to me and the limit of what I could pay," he said.
The cottages are known as "prefabs," temporary houses put up after World War II to help ease the housing crisis caused by the bombing of Britain's cities by Hitler's airforce.
Toward the end of the auction, he and another bidder went head-to-head, ramping up the final price from $42,000 to $51,000.
The freehold properties had been with the previous owner since 2009, per Sky News.