In Derby, Tasmania, the town's old bank is for sale at a price some may say is a steal

Could a historic home get any cuter?

This adorable building at 51 Main Street Derby, in Tasmania’s north east, was erected in 1888 and operated as a bank until the early 1990s.

Now up for sale, it comes with the old safe, change drawers and the original counter inside, listed at a price of $595,000.

With the original bank room at the front of the property, the residence then opens up behind it onto two levels, with five bedrooms in total.

“There’s been a lot of interest, it’s creating a lot of talk,” said agent Justin Wiggins, from Roberts Real Estate Launceston.

Interested parties have emerged from all over, he said, with many from the mainland.

Mr Wiggins described the bank as the best building in the vicinity of the Blue Derby Trails, an extensive and internationally-recognised mountain bike network, with the 2015 opening triggering a surge of tourism to the former mining town.

The old bank’s size, quality and history helped it stand out from the crowd, he said.

“It’s a beautiful, beautiful building,” he said. “It’s been well-preserved, the owners have looked after it.”

The home is somewhat of an attraction in its own right too, with Mr Wiggins remarking on the number of tourists admiring the property the last time he had last gone to visit it.

“It is the most photographed building in our area, they tell me,” he said.

The property is village-zoned,  which the Dorset council interim planning scheme describes as providing a small rural centre with a mix of residential and community services and commercial activities, providing for low-impact, non-residential uses.

“It’s open to anything – an Airbnb, restaurant, cafe, full-time residence,” Mr Wiggins added. “You’ve got beautiful gardens outside, you could turn it into beautiful tea rooms.”

Mr Wiggins said the town had recently experienced exponential price growth.

“A basic block that sold for $20,000 would now sell for $150,000,” he said.

Records show the most expensive sale in 2018 was a three-bedroom home at 1 Bell Street, which sold for $420,000 in May.

The last recorded sale of 51 Main Street was in August 2011, when it changed hands for $250,000.