Big price for tiny property

A SURFERS Paradise cool room – possibly Australia’s smallest piece of commercial property – has sold for a hefty sum.

The property went under the hammer yesterday for the same rate per square metre as a luxury Gold Coast high rise apartment amid heated bidding.

The 4sqm slither of paradise at 15 Cavill Ave was snapped up for $45,000 – equating to $11,250 per square metre.

Three bidders competed for the petite piece of the Glitter Strip, with a flurry of offers from the floor of the Ray White Surfers Paradise auction.

Bidding quickly escalated after opening at $10,000, before being knocked down for $45,000.

The winning bid came from locals Bette Arkinstaw and her sister Roylene Spies, who already own two retail tenancies in the same building on the corner of Orchid Ave.

They plan to lease out the cool room, which is slightly bigger than a kingsize bed and less than a third of the size of most carparking spaces.

“We’ve been long-time owners in the building and ran a hairdressing business there for many years and our mother used to have a pet shop in there, too,” Ms Arkinstaw said.

“So we know how storage is such a problem in the centre of town.”

She said it was an “excellent buy” and could fetch $500 per month in rent.

Marketing agent Simon Robertson fielded about 20 inquiries in the lead-up to yesterday’s auction.