Dame Jacinda Ardern and Clarke Gayford got $2.15 million for their Auckland bungalow, house price records show.
The sale price was below the RV of $2.3m, and well short of the reported $6m the couple paid for their new home in Sydney’s northern beaches this month.
However, they did make a profit - on paper at least - having bought the 1930s Sandringham home in 2018 for $1.74m.
Ray White listing agent Tim Hawes, who marketed the home with colleague Nathan Karpik, told OneRoof in July that the house was sold off the floor and that the buyers were “lovely people”.
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They were “so stoked”, Hawes said, just “over the moon”. “Both sides were happy with the outcome,” he said.
What the buyers secured was something stylish and homely, according to the listing. “Behind a crisp white fence on one of Sandringham’s prettiest streets, this timeless 1930s bungalow introduces itself with traditional weatherboard charm and a welcoming front porch,” the listing said.
“The clever layout offers a superb balance of togetherness and quiet retreat across four bedrooms and multiple living spaces. At the rear, the light-washed master suite and lounge serve as a calming sanctuary, serviced by a freshly updated ensuite.
Dame Jacinda Ardern with Clarke Gayford after she stood down as Prime Minister in January 2023. Photo / Mark Mitchell
Ardern with singer Ed Sheeran. Ardern and Gayford have hosted several celebrities at the Sandringham bungalow. Photo / Instagram, Jacinda Ardern
Gayford outside the couple’s Sandringham bungalow on the night of the 2020 election. He brought fish and venison for neighbours and media. Photo / Peter Meecham
“Entertaining is effortless, with social spaces extending outward in every direction. French doors open from the kitchen and dining area onto a sheltered central deck perfect for the daily rhythm of family life.
“This private, fully fenced backyard is an oasis of mature greenery, complete with a third patio next to a solid concrete-block garden studio that is ready for hobbies or storage.
“Secure electronic gates open to generous off-street parking for multiple vehicles, leaving you to simply move in, unpack, and enjoy an enchanting slice of a tightly held neighbourhood.”
Ardern has had luck with her property sales. In 2018, while heavily pregnant, she sold her home on Moa Road in Auckland’s Point Chevalier off-market for $1.32m – $333,000 more than Ardern paid for it in 2016.
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At the time, Ardern and Gayford had already bought their Sandringham bungalow and were getting ready for family life in suburbia. The house was close to Westfield St Lukes, Eden Park, a good primary school, several parks and playgrounds, and a swag of good cafes and restaurants on Dominion Road.
The Sandringham home hadn’t changed much in the eight years the couple owned it. When OneRoof turned up for one of the open homes, there were plenty of shoes on the porch (20-plus at a rough count).
Young families spent 30 minutes exploring the home’s many nooks, opening cupboards and trying to imagine how they’d fit in. Some had brought their parents with them, helpful for securing that “bank of mum and dad” finance, or for soothing grumpy babies while they checked out the bathrooms and kitchen.
The four-bedroom Sandringham home has an RV of $2.3m and had been stylishly staged. Photo / Supplied
The extension, which comprises the main living area and the master suite, enjoys plenty of sun. Photo / Supplied
The listing for the property said it was “perfect for the daily rhythm of family life”. Photo / Supplied
Some knew the house had some star power, but most were there because they were in the market to buy and weren’t all that fussed that the house they were looking at belonged to a former prime minister and had hosted the likes of Ed Sheeran, Stephen Colbert and Hillary Barry.
The $2.15m sale price is a far cry from the $23.5m that former Prime Minister Sir John Key got for his Parnell mansion in 2017. That price was the year’s second-largest transaction behind the $28.888m sale of a mansion on O’Neills Avenue in Takapuna.
OneRoof reported last month that the mansion on St Stephens Avenue nearly resold for $24m but that the deal was derailed by a caveat and Covid.
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