A Nissen hut sold for 20 per cent more than its estimate when it went to auction.

The hut – with planning permission for a one bed house – sold for £169,000 against a guide price of £140,000.

“It saw a good deal of pre-sale interest,” said auctioneers Cheffins.

The hut is within a small farmyard of 0.34 acres at Barrowfield Farm, Isleham Road, Fordham and the sale included a 30-foot shipping container.

Cheffins also sold another redundant farmyard of 0.46 acres (with further land available) also in Fordham, for £254,000 against an estimate of £190,000.

The Cheffins property auction took place at the firm’s salerooms in Cambridge.

Cheffins director Ian Kitson said: “This was one of our busiest property auctions to date.

“With over one hundred bidders registered on the day, the sale saw over 750 legal packs downloaded and record levels of interest per lot offered.”

He said: “The results of the sale go to show how the lack of stock on the residential market has pushed more private buyers to turn to the auction room.

"The demand for rural property has gone through the roof since Covid.”

He said the “race for space’” has ensured that countryside opportunities have been the most consistently sought after lots at almost every sale in the past 18 months.

Mr Kitson added: “Amenity land values have also rocketed for the same reasons, as private buyers now compete with developers or investment-driven buyers taking a long-term view on a land parcel.

“This sale was no different, with the amenity section seeing private buyers, investors and those looking to secure parcels for amenity purposes.”

The September sale grossed a total of £2,966,000.

One of the most popular lots in the residential section was a two-bedroom, mid-terrace house on Kingston Street, Cambridge, which sold for £428,000, well above its pre-sale estimate of £300,000 - £325,000.

In need of refurbishment, the house was within the popular Mill Road area of the city saw nearly 100 viewings and around 20 interested parties bidding on the day.

A three-bedroom detached house in Littleport needing full modernisation was also offered with an agricultural barn and sold for £290,000.

And a parcel of 6.38 acres of grassland between Cottenham and Wilburton sold for £120,000, against an estimate of £50,000 - £60,000.