A historic as-is-where-is property in Akaroa on Banks Peninsula which was used as a holiday home for journalists has sold for about $580,000.

Corboy House, an 1860s-era property valued at $725,000, has sold to a two-family group who intend to restore the building, said Harcourts agent Jackie Maw.

The house on Rue Balguerie failed to sell at auction on July 2, and instead sold by deadline sale.

Said Maw: “It was passed in at auction. And we did have a lot of conditional interest after that.”

The buyers are a “two-family group who have a great skill set for that job and are passionate about restoring her to her former glory”, she said.

It became a holiday home in 1967 when it was bought by The Press journalist David Corboy, who transferred ownership to the former NZ Journalists Association.

It was then administered by the Corboy House Trust, which has now run out of money to keep the property.

Maw also addressed rumours the house was haunted: “That’s never manifested for me or at open homes.

“And I actually popped in to see the new owners yesterday.

“They had slept there for the first night and had a good vibe of the house.”