Not-so-costly digs on Costley St

There's a catch to this house. Photo / Michael Craig

A picture-perfect cottage on one of Auckland's leading streets is for sale for less than $300,000.

Some homes in the Freemans Bay area sell for close to $2 million, so the two-bedroom character home at 19 Costley St is a steal.

But there's a catch.

The sunny home featuring open-plan living, off-street parking, rumpus and separate entrance is yours but the tiny 177sqm parcel of land is not.

It is leasehold land and for the time being will cost $30,000 a year, or around $600 a week. And the lease is about to be reviewed.

Recent Auckland Council valuations put the home and land package at $1,050,000. The land is worth $880,000 and the house $175,000.

That valuation puts the Costley St property among the most expensive Auckland real estate - and that's without the house.

LJ Hooker says there will be an opportunity to buy the lease next year.