A RUN-DOWN garage on the exclusive Sandbanks peninsula in Dorset has sold for more than £600,000 - a whopping four times the price of the average house in County Durham.

The humble storage unit is on a plot of prime real estate in the heart of the Millionaire's Playground and is just yards from its sandy beach.

The new owner, a wealthy watersports enthusiast, beat off competition from 17 other serious bidders for the 1950's built garage, reports the Daily Echo.

It is thought that he plans to store his jet-ski and other watersports equipment in it for the time being.

READ MORE: These are the most popular homes for sale in Darlington right now

But he could end up applying for planning permission to demolish the single-storey garage and build a 'nice little beach house' worth £1m in its place.

For the same amount of money paid for the Sandbanks garage, the new owner could have bought a six bed detached house in the North-East or an eight bed house with a holiday cottage on the Isle of Mull in Scotland.

Over the past year, house prices have risen dramatically, including in the North-East. Across County Durham the average price paid for a family home over the past 12 montsh was £151,957 - up 10.54%, according to Zoopla.

The average price for a terraced property is County Durham stands at just £94,397, which means the Dorest investor could have nabbed himself six properties for the price he paid for a shabby garage. But he probably couldn't jet ski in the back yard of terraced property in Shildon, could he?

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The Dorset garage is 19ft wide and 95ft long and had belonged for over 60 years to a family who have a holiday home on Sandbanks.

As it is not possible to take out a mortgage on the garage, it was only offered to cash buyers through sealed bids.

The Northern Echo: BNPS.co.uk (01202) 558833. 
Pic: BNPS

A run-down garage on the exclusive Sandbanks peninsula has sold for over £600,000 - 2.5 times the price of the average house in Britain. 

The humble storage unit is on a plot of prime real estate in the

Giles Hilliard, of Lloyds estate agents of Poole, told the Echo: "The winning bidder is an avid watersports fan from Hampshire who visits the area a lot to use the water.

"We had 18 bids on the table for the garage and it sold for in excess of £600,000.

"It is a huge amount of money to pay for a garage but we have got used to property on Sandbanks changing hands for massive sums.

"The garage is a bit run down and it doesn't have any running water or electricity.

The Northern Echo: BNPS.co.uk (01202) 558833. 
Pic: LloydsPropertyGroup/BNPS

Pictured: The rear of the 98ft long plot. 

A run-down garage on the exclusive Sandbanks peninsula has sold for over £600,000 - 2.5 times the price of the average house in Britain.

Read more: Do you remember these Sandbanks homes and the giant dunes?

"It is also hidden away between a block of flats and a detached house.

"But it is literally a stone's throw from the beach so is ideal for keeping watersports craft in.

"In time the new owner might put in a planning application to put a nice little beach house on the site but for now he will use it for storage and keep all of his watersports toys in there."

The garage is on Banks Road and is close to the former home of Harry and Sandra Redknapp. The celebrity couple sold up and moved off the peninsula last year.

The Northern Echo: BNPS.co.uk (01202) 558833.
Pic: LloydsPropertyGroup/BNPS

Pictured: The garage is about 30 yards from the golden sands of Sandbanks beach 

A run-down garage on the exclusive Sandbanks peninsula has sold for over £600,000 - 2.5 times the price

Sandbanks is often referred to Britain's version of Miami Beach.

It is said to be the fourth most expensive place in the world to buy real estate, behind Hong Kong, Tokyo and London's Belgravia.

The Northern Echo: BNPS.co.uk (01202) 558833. 
Pic: LloydsPropertyGroup/BNPS

Pictured: The spacious interior of the garage. 

A run-down garage on the exclusive Sandbanks peninsula has sold for over £600,000 - 2.5 times the price of the average house in

Its waterfront mansions sell for upwards of £10m while holiday apartments that lay empty for most of the year are worth up to £4m.