A rundown, three-bedroom cottage in Campsie with dirty carpet and peeling walls was at the centre of an unlikely bidding war when it went to auction on Saturday, eventually selling for a whopping $1,915,000 – $515,000 over reserve.

The home, which had been in the same family for more than 100 years and still had its original kitchen, was advertised as a “renovate or detonate” type of property.

Despite the property’s appeal to developers and investors – the buyers were a husband and wife looking to renovate and move in, according to agent Francois Vassiliades from LJ Hooker, Campsie.

A crowd of 150 showed up on Saturday to watch as 10 bidders vied for the 510-square-metre property. Bidding started at $1 million before a developer and a Chinese buyer pushed the price to $1.7 million. At that point, a new bidder – the eventual winner – emerged to take the honours.

“Yeah, it’s crazy. From day dot, there was a lot of interest in the property” said Vassiliades, of the result.

“It is still a family area, but with the new planning zones there are developers coming knocking as well.”

Vassiliades said the home had retained some period features, but wasn’t in a habitable condition. “I would not say it was liveable, not at all. The photos made it look good,” he said.

The owner, who had recently passed away, had been born at the home, on the kitchen bench, according to his niece.

The three-bedroom home is zoned as R4 High Density Residential – allowing serviced apartments or a residential flat building with council consent – and is a short walk to Campsie Station.

“It’s one of the better streets in that suburb. I’m not really surprised by anything these days” said auctioneer Rocky Bartolotto.

He said there has been a lot of demand for houses ripe for renovation, particularly over the last year. “Any properties in that ‘renovate or detonate’ style always seem to attract an interest and draw a big crowd.”

And he can see the appeal of Campsie: “It’s not that far away – the distance to the CBD. It’s next door to the inner-west.”

Recent sales show just a few other character homes – albeit newer and in a better condition – passing the $1.5 million mark. A four-bedroom home at 39 Claremont St sold for $1.51 million in April, and a deceased estate on 632 square metres at 41 Messiter Street went for $1,765,000 in March.

Domain Group data shows that the median house price in Campsie over the last six months is $1,243,000, with price growth of 13 per cent over that period, and growth of 103.8 per cent over five years.

The timber cottage is on what was once Mildura Estate in then-Canterbury, which opened in 1892. Old maps of the area show it was part of the second subdivision of what was once Bramshott’s Farm.