Keys sell $6.4m Sydney pad
The former prime minister and his wife Lady Bronagh have sold their Sydney harbour apartment just six weeks after receiving the keys, writes Lucy Macken.
Sir John Key and Lady Bronagh had to wait three years to take the keys to their Sydney harbour apartment, but ultimately they only owned it six weeks before it sold on Wednesday for more than A$6 million ($6.4m).
The three-bedroom spread was settled in Lady Bronagh’s name in late April, soon after the luxury McMahons Point building was completed. The following day it was put up for grabs again. Buyers were asked to pay from A$6m to A$6.5m.
The sale result remains undisclosed by Ray White Lower North Shore’s Tim Abbott and David Gillan but, given the speed of the campaign, it is widely expected to have sold inside the guide.
Sir John shocked New Zealand in 2016 when he resigned, despite being widely regarded by the country’s media as one of the most popular leaders in recent years.
The following year the Keys sold their Auckland mansion in Parnell on a two-year settlement for $23.5m to little-known Lianzhong Chen, and downsized to a new house built on an adjoining block on what was previously their tennis court.
Later that year they added the
Sydney apartment in developer Rob Moore’s exclusive harbourside block The Bradfield, given Sir John’s business interests in Australia. However, in the intervening years those interests have moved to the United States, leaving their now-complete apartment redundant.
Sir John, the former global head of foreign exchange at Merrill Lynch before he entered political life, stepped down from the board of Air New Zealand in March, but remains chairman of ANZ Bank New Zealand.
The Bradfield has emerged as the most expensive apartment development north of the Harbour Bridge this year as settlements have lodged on record.
Rugby Australia director and private equity veteran Peter Wiggs set a north shore apartment record at A$21m when he settled on his two-storey penthouse earlier this year, and the subpenthouse was bought for A$12.5m by Cheryl Savage, widow of former David Jones chairman and noted Fairfax Media director Bob Savage.
This article originally appeared on Realestate.co.nz and has been republished with permission.