- A heritage-protected boatshed on Ngapipi Road has been sold for around $1.85m.
- The new owners plan to use it as an entertainment space and for boating activities.
- The boatshed features chandeliers, marble tiles, a games room and a yoga room.
The country’s most glamorous boatshed has found a new owner.
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New Zealand Sotheby’s International Realty agent Paul Sissons confirmed to OneRoof that he had sold 18/1 Ngapipi Road, one of the iconic, heritage-protected boatsheds that line Whakatakataka Bay.
He declined to disclose what the new owners paid but said the deal, closed over the last few months, was for around the asking price of $1.85 million.
The shed was given a $300,000 makeover and had been used as an entertainment space. Photo / Supplied
He told OneRoof that the buyers had big plans for the shed. “The size is good, and they can see the opportunity to utilise it as an entertainment space, as well as for boating activities,” he said.
“Getting their foot on this property was important because of the rarity of it. It ticked all their boxes.”
When the 135sqm shed went on the market 18 months ago, Sissons drew attention to its glamour. “This is big and rare and pretty flash, it won’t come up again,” he told OneRoof.
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The vendor told OneRoof the shed wasn’t much to look at when he picked it up more than 25 years ago. The previous owner had turned it into a dumping ground for junk and had even added a mezzanine floor, so it could hold more rubbish.
“Somebody whispered to me it was for sale, and I got in contact with the owner, and we did a deal. I don’t remember what we paid,” he said.
He quickly set about transforming it into a retreat for his family. “It was perfect for the kids growing up. It was party central. So nice to have a hub on the water in central Auckland – a bit like a garage for the boys.”
The iconic boatsheds lining Whakatakataka Bay, in Auckland’s Orakei. Photo / Supplied
The vendor said he had leased the shed to a company running a marine-related charter business. “They spent around $300,000 re-fitting it with a full bathroom, second toilet and kitchen, its own holding tanks for grey water and black water.”
As well as glamorous chandeliers and marble tiles in the open-plan living and kitchen space, the occupants carved out a lobby area and a small games room on the ground floor and created a yoga room and an office upstairs.
Owners of the boatsheds only have a maritime licence to occupy and are forbidden to use them as a residence.
Sissons made headlines in 2023 when he sold one of the boatsheds for a record-breaking $2.05m at auction - more than double Auckland’s median house price at the time.
Boatshed 11 is on the market and has been refurbished inside and out. Photo / Supplied
He said this week that the appetite for the sheds had waned during the market slowdown, but recent falls in interest rates had changed buyer calculations.
“People who have a couple of million dollars invested but are only getting three or four percent interest will be thinking, ‘Why not spend it on something else that’s more fun?’.”
Sissons said most of the sheds on Ngapipi Road had been upgraded.
“Everybody’s spending money on them and looking after them. The owners will probably be there for the next 10 years, and then we will start the cycle again,” he said.
Another shed, No.11, is currently on the market with Bayleys agents Matt Bayley and John Greenwood. It has an asking price of $1.55m.
The vendor had been using it as an arts studio and entertaining space, as it has a kitchen and bathroom.
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