A garden plot hidden behind a double garage has been sold at auction for £880,000 – FIVE TIMES the price of the average English home.
The 0.05 acre plot of land is located just off the High Street in Hampstead, London, one of the capital’s most desirable locations.
It was auctioned off this week and attracted a huge amount of interest because it was offered with planning permission to build a home on it.
A bidding war broke out at the Savills sale with the winning bidder eventually paying a staggering £880,000 for it.
This is five times the £177,000 paid on average for a home in England and Wales last month and more than twice the London average.
The unnamed buyer will now have to pay £34,000 in stamp duty for the plot of land before deciding whether to hold onto it as an investment or build a home.
However, the whopping price paid could turn into a shrewd investment with property prices in the area on the rise.
Zoopla, the property portal, estimates the average value of a home in Hampstead is £1.4 million – an increase on £140,000 over the past 12 months.
Chris Coleman-Smith, head of Savills Auctions, said: “It is a building plot which is within a very short walk of Hampstead High Street and the train station.
“It was difficult to value beforehand because these sites are very rare and there was a lot of interest in it.
“If you are an owner occupier and you want to live in Hampstead it a wonderful opportunity. The market has picked up in recent years and sites like this are scarce commodities.”