An inner-city Auckland home once dubbed the “worst house on the best street” has sold at auction for more than $6 million – almost two-and-a-half times its council valuation (CV). 

The Ponsonby bungalow on a 556sq m section previously made headlines after it sold for more than $2.17m in October 2020, a chunky $250,000 above its then-CV. 

The house is in John St in the city-fringe suburb of Ponsonby. Photo / Bayleys 

But that figure now resembles loose change compared to 109 John St’s latest sale price-CV chasm after the hammer dropped at $6,005,000 on Friday, a mammoth $3.58m more than the property’s most recent $2.425m CV issued in 2024. 

The home – which backs on to school playing fields – has undergone a Jones Architects-designed “complete transformation”, including the addition of a second storey, a fourth bedroom, a double internal garage and a swimming pool, according to an online sale listing. 

Bayleys agent Edward Pack said both buyer and seller had asked him not to discuss the sale, the outcome of which is public. 

But the sale listing showed the home was no longer the tired do-up bought in 2020 by a couple who told OneRoof they were determined to restore what they described as “the worst house on the best street”. 

The home at 109 John St, pictured from the streetfront in December 2020. Photo / Google Streetview 

The pair later moved their young family to Sydney as part of a medical fellowship, ditching their renovation dreams and selling the home for just over $2.32m in September 2024. 

At that stage, it had a new roof and bathroom, was fully insulated and had been partially rewired, Bayleys listing agent Chris Batchelor told OneRoof. 

“It’s very liveable and dry. But it is in need of a lot of TLC. 

“The value is in the land, the fact that it’s a double site on two titles – one of the biggest on John St. But to bite off into that [sort of renovation] you’ve got to know what you’re doing, it’s not just cosmetic.” 

A rear view of the much-altered home. Photo / Bayleys 

By the time the home was back on the auction block 17 months later, it was almost unrecognisable. 

“Elegantly traditional from the street, step inside to a masterpiece of contemporary style and comfort,” read the sale listing, which also championed the blonde parquet floors, kitchen finished in Calacatta Vagli stone and full scullery. 

There are two living areas in the home, with the main one off the kitchen. Photo / Bayleys 

The property also had a “dedicated media room”, home office, wine cellar and guest powder room as well as four bathrooms and four double bedrooms – one on the “upper level master retreat” that included an en suite bathroom and walk-in wardrobe, the listing said. 

The home pictured in 2024, after its young family owners made some improvements, but before the massive renovation that pushed its sale price past $6m at auction last Friday. Photo / Google Maps 

It wasn’t known what the sellers had spent on the renovation, but Batchelor – the listing agent when the property was sold in 2024 – told OneRoof at the time that transforming such a home could be costly. 

A pool and deck are among the new additions to the home. Photo / Bayleys 

Large renovations, with extensions and high-quality finishes, could run to a couple of million dollars, he said. 

“But if you put money into the project, you know you can’t go wrong out the other end.”