PM’S house bought in off-market sale
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and her partner, Clarke Gayford, have sold their house in Pt Chevalier, Auckland.
They moved to a bigger home in Sandringham in early March.
The couple is preparing for the arrival of their first child in June.
Their brick-and-tile Pt Chevalier home was sold by Pt Chevalier Professionals and agency salesman Lawrence von Sturmer said the deal was done on March 10.
The ‘‘sold’’ sign went out this week, which usually indicates that all the conditions on the sale have been met.
He said the property’s $1.12 million capital valuation should not be used as a guide to the price at which it sold. ‘‘CVS are all over the show.’’
Von Sturmer said the property was never listed on the open market. Instead, the agency had looked into its database of buyers and found people who would be suitable.
While that meant there was no open competition for the property, von Sturmer said the agency was confident it had achieved the best price.
The agency had set the suburb’s record sale price of $5.4m with another house that was also not listed on the open market.
‘‘We treated their home as if it was any other house. Pt Chev is always popular. There’s a microclimate here; it’s a nice neighbourhood,’’ von Sturmer said.
‘‘Hardly any developers or property investors buy in the area. It’s mostly families and young people who want to be close to the city.’’
A family bought Ardern’s property, he said, and both she and Gayford were ‘‘really nice’’ to deal with. ‘‘We’re sad to see them move out of Pt Chev.’’