SIR JOHN KEY GETS KEYS TO LUXURY $6M PAD - AND LISTS IT THE NEXT DAY
Sir John and Lady Bronagh have only owned the new house for a day
Former New Zealand prime minister Sir John Key is selling a luxury multimilliondollar waterfront Sydney apartment — just one day after getting the keys.
Key and wife Lady Bronagh took possession of the plush A$5.7 million ($6.05m) harbourside apartment in McMahons Point on the shores of Sydney Harbour and overlooking the landmark Sydney Harbour Bridge this week.
But despite having waited three years for the three-bedroom, 129sq m home to be built, having bought it off the plans, the Keys have decided they won’t be spending any time there.
It’s already been listed for sale, with Sydney estate agent Tim Abbott confirming to the Herald on Sunday that it’s expected to fetch around A$6.5m to A$7m ($6.9m to $7.43m).
Key, the former head of foreign exchange at Merrill Lynch who was a three-term New Zealand Prime Minister from 2008 to 2016, said that things have changed since they bought a year after leaving office.
Late last year the Keys sold their Parnell family mansion for $23.5m after a two-year settlement, while he also stepped down from the board of Air New Zealand last month.
“We bought it off the plan three years ago but have decided that we don’t need a residence in Sydney as more of my work is oriented to other parts of the world,” he said.
“It’s a beautiful apartment but we only have so much spare time and having built a new house in New Zealand we are keen to spend time in this property.”
Estate agents Ray White Lower North Shore are billing the property as a “brand new designer apartment with iconic views — five-star luxury on the shores of Sydney Harbour”.
Abbott said they’ve only just started marketing the property but are expecting a lot of interest. “It’s an amazing spot down there and it’s come up really nicely,” he said.
“It’s close to the harbour but that area of McMahons Point has a nice village sort of feel. It’s an exclusive block, one of those spots that’s really hard to repeat — they never really come up, so clearly [Key] has taken advantage of that. He was planning on spending a bit more time here but over the period I think the plans have changed.”
In September 2017, the Weekend Herald announced the Key family had sold their Parnell mansion at St Stephens Ave but were planning to keep a tennis court on the big site for future development.
It was reported last year that the new house next door was nearing completion.
We bought it off the plan three years ago but have decided that we don’t need a residence in Sydney. Sir John Key