A row of three nondescript Fifties garages near Wandsworth Common have sold for £500,000 — four times the guide price — after an auction bidding frenzy.
The new owner is expected to apply to demolish the lock-ups and build a house on the site, in one of south-west London’s most desirable residential areas.
It is the latest example of how tiny plots of land without planning permission are fetching huge prices because of the desperate shortage of housing in the capital.
The garages were put up for sale by Wandsworth council at a Barnard Marcus auction this week with a guide price of £130,000. But an opening offer of £175,000 sparked a bidding battle in the sale room and on the phone.
The 870 sq ft plot, in Blenkarne Road, is in a “nappy valley” family neighbourhood where houses cost up to £4 million.
In May six garages in Parsons Green sold for £700,000.
