State house fetches $850k

This state house at 58 Wainui Ave, Pt Chevalier, sold for much more than expected. Photo / Supplied

The auction of a state house in Pt Chevalier has stunned buyers and taken the auctioneer aback - but appears to be a windfall for the taxpayer.

The wooden bungalow at 58 Wainui Ave sold for $850,000, well above expectations.

One house-hunter said it needed a complete do-up and although it was big, the developer who out-bid the crowd could not be matched.

QV shows the house was owned by Housing New Zealand but no previous sales history was available, indicating it had been in the state's hands since it was built in the 1930s.

Mark Sumich of Sumich Real Estate admitted the property sold for slightly more than he expected.

"Expectations were a little below that," he said of the end price.

"The CV was $740,000 and we always thought we'd do better than that. There would have been about 50 people at the auction and six people bidding. I thought it was in the $700,000s.

"But it is hard to get a level land holding north of Meola Rd which seems to be very in vogue now," he said, citing zoning issues and the popularity of Pt Chevalier Primary School.