One of Auckland’s iconic boat sheds sold last week for $1.35 million after just two weeks on the market.
Barfoot & Thompson agent Tracey Cameron, who marketed the boat shed at the end of a row on Ngapipi Road, overlooking Auckland’s Hobson Bay, Whakatakataka, told OneRoof that while she can’t disclose who the buyer was, there were multiple offers for the shed.
It sat at the end of the run of just 17 boat sheds, some dating to the 1930s, that now have heritage protection by Auckland Council. Owners have a right to occupy under a coastal permit via resource consent, but the sheds cannot be lived in, only used for marine and boating purposes.
The 65sqm shed, which still has a slipway for boats beneath the modern flooring, had a suitably nautical white-washed interior with skylights, a kitchenette and bathroom inside and a fully automated seaward-side roller door.
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The last time one of the sheds was sold was in November 2021, when a larger and smartly renovated building in the middle of the run sold under the hammer for $1.2075m, after a bidding war between four buyers.
The 65sqm shed has a kitchenette and bathroom, but cannot be used for living in under the terms of its resource consent. Photo / Supplied
Neighbouring sheds rarely change hands in the heritage-protected line-up. Photo / Supplied
“[The boatsheds] have been tightly held by a who’s who of Auckland families, they rarely come to market,” said Cameron.
Just before Christmas last year, another smaller 40sqm boat shed that was once used as a studio by New Zealand music icons Dave Dobbyn and Ladi6 did not sell at auction. It was expected to sell for around $800,000.
In November 2020 a neighbouring shed sold for $1.2m after four bidders competed at auction. Photo / Supplied
Cameron told OneRoof there was a “broad spectrum of interest from people who thought it might go for $10,000 to realistic people who knew what the last one went for.”
“These sheds buck the trends, they’re their own little micro-market.”
A smaller shed used as a studio by musicians Dave Dobbyn and Ladi6 was on the market last year. Photo / Supplied
Cameron said that she has an off-market listing for another shed, and buyers realise that there is a range of price points depending on size and quality. The neighbouring shed is in the midst of a top-to-toe makeover that may run to hundreds of thousands of dollars, she said, with new docking and a pontoon being added.
In her marketing, Cameron pitched the shed as a picturesque spot to while away the hours, an artist’s retreat, an uber-cool city pad for use as a daytime bach.
“A unique place for your Christmas lunch this year, with spectacular grandstand views of the harbour and city,” Cameron said.
