The luxury beach house once owned by Sir John Key has sold for an undisclosed amount.
The four-bedroom bach on Success Court, in Omaha, was put on the market by former ANZ chief executive David Hisco, who bought it off the former Prime Minister in 2018 for $3.1 million.
The property, which sits on 1000sqm-plus of absolute beachfront land in the rich-lister enclave, had a 2021 CV of $5.4m and had been owned by the Key family for more than 25 years.
Listing agent Di Balich, of Precision Real Estate, declined to comment on the sale price or reveal the identity of the buyer, but told OneRoof that “it sold within what I’d expect for quality properties, which are selling for 20 to 40% above CV”.
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She added: “We have a very happy vendor and a cash buyers. There is a likelihood that the buyers will live in this for a period of time and then rebuild.”
Balich said the buyers, who had lived overseas, had spent some months exploring beach properties around Auckland, including Waiheke, Tara Iti and places on the Coromandel Peninsula before settling on Omaha.
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“They chose Omaha for its pristine beaches, proximity to the city and robust infrastructure,” she said.
“This is a future-proof home for their grandchildren. They absolutely loved the site, it’s one of only five sections over this size and they can never be encroached on, it’s got that 180-degree view.”
She had described the bach in her marketing as “Omaha’s best kept secret”. The property was listed at the end of last month, the first time in 33 years it had been put on the open market for sale.
Balich’s listing highlighted the home’s connection to the Key family and the fact the bach was one of only a few single-level beachfront properties in Omaha on a 1000sqm-plus section.
“This home offers a magical playground of ocean front-row entertainment: spectacular sunrises and sunsets, dolphins and surf,” she said.
Sir John Key outside the bach in 2007. Photo / New Zealand Herald
The property was the Key family holiday home for more than 25 years before being picked up by former ANZ chief David Hisco. Photo / Supplied
When he sold the bach in 2018, Key commented that it had fallen out of use.
The $3.1m sale price was much commented upon in the media because it was under the property’s then CV of $3.65m.
Key told the New Zealand Herald in 2019, when details of the sale were made public, that he believed the council assessment – released in November 2017 – was fundamentally wrong for the property.
Balich told OneRoof last month that the Hiscos were not using the bach as much as they used to. “They’re travelling a lot. I call them the ‘global gypsies’,” she said.
She said the family had spent a lot of money upgrading the property, including adding a new roof, and had price expectations of between $6.5m and $7m. “It’s in very, very good condition,” she said.
The sale follows two high-profile purchases of neighbouring baches on nearby Taumata Road.
One, a five-bedroom Andrew Patterson-designed home on a 1218sqm beachfront section, sold under the hammer for $8.55m.
The Auckland mansion that once belonged to Sir John Key. Its sale in November last year was one of New Zealand's biggest for 2022. Photo / Supplied
The other, a smaller three-bedroom bach directly behind it, sold for more than $3m the same day.
The Hisco bach is the second property related to the Key family to have sold in the last 12 months.
OneRoof reported earlier this year that the Auckland mansion which the Keys sold in 2017 for $23.5m resold at the end of last year for $16.3m.
The seven-bedroom mansion on Saint Stephens Avenue, in Parnell, had made a surprise re-appearance on the open market after a private deal with a New Zealand-based buyer collapsed.
The sprawling home, which has a pool and spa and a 2021 CV of $22m, had been rented out. The November 2022 sale price represented the biggest resale loss of 2022.
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