"It's a bit sad to part with it," the 74-year-old said.

"It was the family home. Everyone used to come back there over the years."

Read more: Buyer plays the waiting game to snap up Thirroul property, South Coast suburb sets record

The property, located at 49 Woodlawn Avenue, Mangerton sold via online auction for $1,505,000 on Friday night.

The three-bedroom, two-bathroom cottage is set on 1073 square metres.

The home features an open-plan living area and a separate sitting room.

Ken's grandfather John Hurt built the house in 1927, in an area then known as Woodlawn Heights Estate.

"Mum's family were the Hurts, and they owned all the land up there," Ken said.

"My great-great grandfather, William Henry Hurt was mayor of Wollongong in the early '30s.

"The corner of Woodlawn Avenue and Norman Street, where the house was, I believe it was a rural property before it was subdivided."

After it was subdivided, William Henry Hurt distributed blocks of land to various family members, including Ken's grandfather John.

The property at 49 Woodlawn Avenue was most recently owned by Ken's father William, who died in May, four months shy of his 100th birthday. Ken's mother Joyce died in 2017, aged 94.

"Dad was a bit of an identity around Wollongong," Ken said.

"When he was 14, he used to deliver meat on horseback around Mt Kembla, which piqued his interest in butchery.

"After he went into the mines, he would work two jobs. He would do his shift in the mines, and then go and do an apprenticeship as a butcher with Charlie Dawson, who was mayor of Wollongong.

"He would deliver meat all over Wollongong in a van. He was a real character and everyone in Wollongong knew him."

Ken, who lives in Figtree, said it had been a surreal experience for the home to be sold via an online auction.

"I'd never been involved in auctions before... Especially now with online auctions, all you see is the picture of the auctioneer, and you hear the bids," he said.

"They're numbered, you don't know who's involved."

Read more: Who can attend an open house, private inspection in the Illawarra and South Coast?

Selling agent, Nicole Kay from Belle Property Illawarra said the auction was a competitive one, with bidding opening at $1,100,000.

She said there were 14 registered bidders, of which one was an international buyer (an expat), one from interstate, five were Sydney-based and the remainder were locals.

"The property sold 16 per cent above reserve to local buyers," she said.

"The campaign was very active despite the COVID lockdown.

"We had several face-time inspections and approximately 60 one-on-one private appointments to ensure all interested parties had the opportunity to participate."