With a derelict, 30sqm crib, 30 McBride St is a throwback to the late 1950s, when the lakeside Queenstown suburb was settled with such abodes.
At an on-site auction yesterday - attended by about 40 people - a young couple with a baby in a pram secured the property with a bid of $1,290,000.
After bidding opened at $600,000, the couple were among five parties contending for the property, with 27 bids needed to seal the deal.
The couple, who did not want to be named but have lived in Queenstown for the past decade, said they would demolish the crib and build a family home.
The property has been owned by a Canterbury family for about six decades.
It has McBride St on one side of the property and Kawarau Rd, beside the airport’s western end, on the other.
Before the auction, Ray White Queenstown sales consultant Elliot Fell said the property was a "blank canvas" that would suit someone wanting to build, develop or land-bank.
He had expected most inquiries to come from investors and developers, and had been surprised they had been matched 50-50 by young families.
