A Stairway to Nowhere Sells for $32,000 in London

Even by the standards of London’s white-hot real estate market, it was a property with seemingly limited appeal: an unused stairwell, attached to the back of a suburban building, next to a parking garage.

Nevertheless, the four-story metal stairwell, enclosed by translucent panels, sold at auction on Tuesday morning for 25,000 pounds (about $32,000), 20 percent more than the starting bid.

Simon Squibb, the longtime entrepreneur who bought the stairwell, said he saw what the property listing…