The Auckland boatshed used in the hit TV show David Lomas Investigates sold for a record-breaking $2.05 million at auction today.
The iconic Hobson Bay property was snapped up after an intense auction held by New Zealand Sotheby’s International Realty.
The sale price is the highest achieved for a boatshed listed on the open market in New Zealand.
Paul Sissons, the listing agent for the boatshed on Orakei’s Ngapipi Road, told OneRoof there were six registered bidders at the auction, four of whom were active in the room.
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Bidding kicked off at $800,000, and quickly escalated to $1.5m, with three bidders fighting it out to the very end.
Sissons said the weather was a good portent of the stellar result, with a rainbow appearing just as the auction started. “There a pot of gold at the end of that rainbow,” he joked.
The 65sqm stylishly-decorated boatshed is one of only 17 on the edge of Whakatakataka Bay. But it has film-star cred, having been used as the “office” setting for investigator David Lomas’ documentary TV show, which helps reunite families.
The vendor told OneRoof last month that Lomas was an old family friend. “He’d done filming in one of the sheds down from us, so when he couldn’t use that I asked if he’d like to use ours. It was a bit of fun,” he said.
The producers of TV show David Lomas Investigates have used the boatsheds of Hobson Bay as Lomas’ ‘office’. Photo / Warner Brothers Discovery
Boatshed 15 on Whakatakataka Bay is one of the few in the historic community that still has its original wharf. Photo / Supplied
He told OneRoof that he had been lucky enough to buy the boatshed when it came on the market seven years ago, albeit against some stiff competition. “We’d always liked the idea of a boatshed for us and the kids as a chill-out pad. We’d made attempts to buy others, so when this came up, we went ‘this is the one’.”
The fact that a top Auckland decorator had kitted out the shed in Ralph Lauren nautical style, and the property was sold with all the stylish furniture and an entertainers’ kitchen helped seal the deal.
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The vendors also own a classic American lake boat (named the O, in honour of both Orakei and Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis who owned the same model boat) so loved being able to pull their boat up to the end of the original wharf (many other sheds have modern boat ramps instead). “Ours looks like it’s been there 40 years, it’s a decent wharf.”
One of the neighbouring sheds was used to launch the zodiac (boat) that bombed the Rainbow Warrior while many of Auckland’s big names in the America's Cup or commerce have passed their sheds down through the generations.
“Friends had their wedding here, it sat 20 or 30 people. Our son has had his school band play out on the wharf, there’ve been parties, a guitarist played a concert here, with people jumping in the water around him," said the vendor, who wished to remain anonymous.
The 65sqm shed was decorated by one of Auckland’s top interior designers and sold with furniture and decorations intact. Photo / Supplied
The boatshed cannot be lived in but has been used for parties and family gatherings. Photo / Supplied
He said the family decided to sell the shed to buy a flat in London for the family to share in their next stage in life.
Sissons last sold a shed in the iconic row in 2020 for $1.2075m after seven bidders fought for their piece of history.
He said most of the heritage sheds stay in families for generations.
Another smaller boatshed sold at auction last August for $1.35m, while a third, tinier one once used for rehearsals by Auckland icons Dave Dobbyn and Ladi6, failed to sell just before Christmas 2021. It was expected to sell for around $800,000 but was withdrawn from the market.
Sunset views from Boatshed 15. Photo / Supplied
The exteriors of the boatsheds are strictly protected by Auckland Council. Photo / Supplied
The sheds do not have their own title as owners only have a maritime licence to occupy. They are expected to maintain the sheds to heritage standards and are forbidden to use them as residences. The only ongoing cost is maintenance and once every 35 years a new resource consent.
Buyers in Akaroa paid $255,000 in March for a Duvauchelle boatshed on the Akaroa Harbour, after eight bidders battled it out for the rare treasure.
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