A 1900-built weatherboard cottage in Cooks Hill has sold after a 59-bid battle at auction.
The four-bedroom, two-bathroom fixer-upper at 14 Dawson Street went to auction at the weekend with Brett Bailey and Nora McNamara at Ray White Newcastle Lake Macquarie.
The inner-city heritage cottage, originally built for the owners of Winn's department store in Newcastle, was offered to market for only the second time in 126 years.
Mr Bailey described the unrenovated house as "full of potential" when it hit the market last month.
The listing generated 159 enquiries during the three-week auction campaign and had 78 groups attend the open house inspections.
The auction drew four registered bidders and a crowd of about 60 onlookers.
Three of the four registered parties actively bid at the auction which opened at $1.4 million before it came down to two locally based buyers going head-to-head.
The property sold after 59 bids for $1.816 million.
"We had very competitive bidding and the property sold above reserve," Mr Bailey said.
"We had four registered bidders which, for a project like this one, is very strong because you could spend anything between $600,000 to $1 million-plus on a renovation.
"We had 59 bids in total and most of those were between two competing bidders from around the $1.55 million mark.
"It goes to show the desirability of a fixer-upper."
The single-level home comprises three oversized bedrooms, separate living and dining rooms, an updated kitchen and bathroom, and a fourth bedroom or study.
Period features include original cedar ceilings, decorative windows and high ceilings.
Read more: 'Rare' Adamstown double block fetches $2.17 million in auction showdown
The 318-square-metre block has off-street parking from Dawson Street and rear lane access from Glovers Lane.
Mr Bailey said the successful bidder intended to renovate the home to live in it.
The result fell in line with other sales that Mr Bailey had noted in the suburb, including 2 Dawson Street, which sold for $1.95 million in October, and 31 Dawson Street, which fetched $1.8 million in December.
"We didn't list it with a guide," he said.
"We used a couple of comparables on the street, which were more renovated, but on smaller blocks."
According to the agent, the Winn family held the property until 1972.
Established by W. and I. Winn, the three-level Winn's department store operated on the corner of Hunter and Brown streets from 1878 to 1980.
According to Cotality, the median house value in Cooks Hill is $1.74 million.
