Ray White Dunedin agent and auctioneer Grant McLean, who donned jandals to call the auction for the 16sqm shed with a 10sqm of deck, said boathouses in the area rarely came up for sale.
Bidding started at $40,000 but quickly got to $90,000 before a short pause for negotiations. McLean’s hammer (actually his jandal) eventually came down at $95,000.
“We had 10 bidders at the auction – seven in the room, the rest online and by phone, and with video and social media we had over 4500 views,” McLean said.
“We marketed this as hard as we would a $1 million house. A lot of locals wanted it because not all the baches have a boat shed, but we had interest from Wellington and Tauranga too.”
McLean said the vendor had owned the shed since 2006, but was thrilled to have a visit from a 74-year-old woman who remembered building the shed with her father more than 60 years ago.
McLean said the boat shed had no power, water or sewage, and ownership was a licence to occupy with the Otago Regional Council, but buyers were still keen. A walking track around the Purakaunui Inlet passes the shed, and “if you’re quick”, there’s a car park about 40 metres away, McLean said.
The tidal inlet, just 30 minutes north of Dunedin, is famous for its cockles.
“I’ve seen small school fish when I was showing the boat shed.
“But I would get skinned if I gave away a local fishing spot,” he said, adding that locals at neighbouring baches do fish off the dock. The settlement is five minutes from Port Chalmers and close to the Orokonui ecological wildlife preserve.
However, the record for a boathouse on the inlet is still $120,000 for a spic-and-span renovated shed that sold in December 2020.
- Catherine Smith OneRoof
