A NORTH Albury building has sold for $1.1 million after being passed in for $900,000 at an auction on Friday.
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The Mate Street property is home to Mr Stoves Pool World and was owned by Garry and Michelle Rutland who also ran that business before selling it in 2014.
An auction was staged by Stean Nicholls Real Estate at the Albury Club on Friday afternoon.
There was only a single bid of $900,000 taken by auctioneer Jack Stean before the site was passed in.
However, following negotiations, that same bidder, an Albury man, opted to buy the 1530 square metre block for $1.1 million as an investment.
Mr Rutland was pleased at the outcome which ended his connection to the store which the couple originally operated from a former railway house in Young Street.
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"We're happy with the result," he said.
"We had the business for 15 years, 10 of those were in that building and I loved it.
"I loved that era, it was very good and it was very good to us."
When the Rutlands bought the site for $300,000 it was a vacant, derelict premises being used as a squat after having been home to a bulldozer business, Mobil service station and panel beaters.
They spent around $500,000 building the existing showroom which fronts Mate and Bellevue streets.
It opened in March 2007, the same month in which the freeway open through Albury, resulting in the Hume Highway no longer running past Mr Stoves Pool World.
After selling the business, the Rutlands took on a solid timber joinery business which they continue to run in North Albury.
Mr Rutland said the buoyant real estate market and wanting to diversify their income stream had prompted the couple to sell the Mate Street site.
The existing owners of Mr Stoves Pool World took up a new five-year lease from March 1 this year with two further five-year options.
Property agent Kristian Hopwood said he was pleased with the outcome although there was just over a handful of people in attendance for the auction.
No phone offers emerged despite interest having been shown from capital cities.
It is the second million-dollar sale for a commercial premises in Albury in just over a month.
It was bought by a Sydney investor.
