Is this $176,000 home Australia's cheapest ever inner-city deal?

There is a strong case for this apartment being Australia’s cheapest ever inner-city auction.

The petite pad in a vibrant cultural and academic precinct traded for $176,000 under the hammer on June 15, and has a combined living and bedroom zone about the length of a small SUV, at 4.3 metres.

The vendor filled the jewellery box-sized home with lots of personality, from a sage green feature wall to a pop tone on the bright splashback and a statement pendant light.

SOLD - $176,000

103/188 Peel Street, North Melbourne VIC 3051

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Struck by Belle Property Ascot Vale, the deal was most affordable nationwide on the weekend, according to Domain’s results.

The apartment is in the university quarter of Melbourne, near the Melbourne Uni Parkville campus, as well as the Queen Victoria Market, major hospitals, the zoo and public transport.

It had been leased at $400 a week, the listing advises.

Rare for homes of this size, it has a private outdoor area, along with a communal laundry, on-site caretaker, security entry and reception.

“Capitalising on every square inch of space, find an open-plan kitchen boasting an induction stove-top, tiled splashback and Blanco rangehood along with adequate storage and a contemporary, fully tiled bathroom,” the listing explains. “The versatile living/bedroom space is flooded with abundant natural light from its private outdoor space.”

The only challenger for price is an Oakleigh apartment of a similar size, which sold on April 15, but it is in an outer suburb of the capital, versus North Melbourne, which is on the lip of the city’s skyscrapers.

That apartment fetched $173,000 and the living zone was a comparable length.

The studio unit is near Melbourne’s major shopping centre – Chadstone – and close by universities and transport, about 14km south east of the CBD.

On the books of Harcourt First, the address included the bonus of titled, off-street parking in the basement of the building.