American buys Seatoun cottage

A Seatoun cottage well known as the meeting place for a feisty group of elderly bathers has sold at auction for $622,500 - almost double its rateable value.

The century-old cottage on the beachfront at 115 Marine Parade needs "a lot of tender, loving care" but attracted keen interest from potential buyers, Kevin McColl of real estate agency Bethunes said.

The three-bedroom house was sold to a New York woman who had been renting a property in the area.