An Ealing flat put up for auction for £160,000 failed to attract a single bid, despite the guide price being a fraction of the average sale price on its street.
The property was touted as a chance for the right investor to achieve £1,300 per month in rent, thought to be almost a 50 per cent uplift on what the existing tenant is paying.
Just five minutes from the Tube, estate agent Hunters added that the property just needs a bit of work to appeal to a “single young professional”.
And yet, despite the sales pitch, media publicity, an open-market listing and simultaneous online auction, not a single bid was received.
The apartment — one of four sharing the lower ground floor of a town house on Castelbar Road — has gone back under the hammer at the same guide price until the end of October.
It is available to cash buyers only, and is thought to be too small to secure a mortgage against.
Situated at the back of the property, the flat only has light from one large window, and the current occupant has a bed next to two armchairs in the multi-purpose living space.
At just 3.5m wide, the main room has little storage space and items of clothing can be seen hanging from a shelf.
A tiny corner kitchen is separated from the main room by a pair of kitchen cupboards described as a “breakfast bar”.
A separate shower and toilet are shown on the floorplan.
It is understood that access to the semi-subterranean studio has been a stumbling block for potential buyers, with the existing tenant not thought to be on board with visits to his limited space, and currently facing an eviction process.
At just 25.1m², the property is almost a third smaller than the minimum nationally described space standard for new dwellings.
However, as an existing residence, it can accommodate two adults and not fall foul of the government’s statutory overcrowding rules.
The property, offered leasehold with 110 years remaining, last sold for the same price it is asking now, £160,000 in 2008, according to Rightmove.
A flat further along Castlebar Road sold for £1.25m last year while the average sold price on the street in the past 12 months is £780,000.
