Winston Peters’ former multimillion dollar luxury mansion for sale
Tuesday, 19 November 2024
A luxury multimillion dollar house formerly owned by deputy prime minister Winston Peters is for sale in one of the Bay of Plenty’s most expensive suburbs.
Peters was MP of Tauranga for more than 20 years from 1984 to 2005.
The NZ First Leader blocked National’s plan to allow foreign buyers to purchase property for more than $2m, but recently indicated he’d change his mind if they had more than “a lousy $20m” to invest.
A four-bedroom home with a pool, and views of the Tauranga harbour and Mt Maunganui, formerly owned by Aotearoa’s deputy prime minister, is for sale for $2.675m.
It will not be an overseas investor who buys the house, as the NZ First leader forced prime minister Christopher Luxon to give up on his campaign plan to allow foreign buyers to purchase property for $2m or more, although Peters recently indicated he might relax his opposition for overseas investors with more than “a lousy $20m.”
Positioned at the base of the sought-after Matua peninsular, one of the region’s most expensive suburbs, with an average value of $1.2m, the 241 sqm home with “strong harbour and Mount views”, was originally built for Tauranga’s well-known Cooney family, owners of Classic Builders, in the early ‘50s and later owned by Rt Hon Winston Peters.
The house has been “park-like” landscaped for privacy, and is fully fenced and gated front and rear, with a drive through double garage, says Ben Hawan, luxury real estate specialist at Oliver Road agency.
With matai floors, rimu framing and weatherboards, and totara doors and window frames, Hawan describes the whole vibe of the home as “a warm embrace.”
The property is entered through a sheltered entry porch from a cul-de-sac, via a gated driveway, and a foyer accesses both a large lounge and a fourth bedroom and its bathroom, as a guest or office area.
That lounge has substantial built-in shelving and a drinks cabinet with a hidden cocktail bar and wine cellar, which Hawan told Stuff “is a unique heritage element of the space and, no doubt, a storied centre of this home’s history.”
A louvre-covered deck overlooks lawns and a concrete heated pool, changing room, powder room and adjacent spa pool. Also outside is a dining and outdoor fireplace, remote control outdoor heating, a private paved courtyard and secure off-street parking space for more cars, boats or trailers.
Slowing rate of decline in housing market signals optimism
Hawan, who specialises in multimillion dollar luxury homes, says, as with the broader market, the 'top end has been sluggish over the past 12 - 18 months with peaks and troughs in sales activity.“
There is growing confidence among buyers, he says.
“Rounding out 2024 is a sense of optimism that things will be returning to a point of balance in 2025.
There is a growing consensus that the fall in property values is at or nearing an end and as such we are beginning to see buyers activate their plans.“
Recent sales would support this, he says, including an Otūmoetai property which was taken under offer after a week on the market by a Geneva-based buyer, purchasing it sight unseen.
Another property in Harvey Street, in Tauranga’s highly sought after tree-lined “Avenues” area, was purchased by local buyers before it even went to market, he says.
This sentiment is echoed by Corelogic’s chief economist, Kelvin Davidson, who said a slowing rate of decline in the property market signals a potential value floor.
“Although the property market remained relatively sluggish in October, the pace of decline has roughly halved in the past couple of months,” said Davidson.
Property values in New Zealand fell -0.5% in October according to CoreLogic's hedonic Home Value Index - the eighth drop in a row. This takes the total decline in values since February to -5.1%.
However Tauranga fared second best out of all the main centres in October, remaining flat. Wellington, Auckland, Hamilton and Dunedin all saw drops in October, with Christchurch edging up by by 0.2%.
Winston Peters’ Tauranga history
Winston Peters, now deputy prime minister and foreign minister, was MP for Tauranga for more than 20 years from 1984 to 2005.
His two children grew up in Tauranga, with Peters separating from their mother, in 1996. One of his children is former Shortland Street and Home and Away actress, Bree Peters.
* AMENDMENT: This story has been updated to remove specific reference to family members. (Amended: November 19, 2024, 1.11pm.)
Peters first won the Tauranga seat in 1984 as a National MP under a David Lange-led Labour government, keeping it when he resigned from the party in 1993 to establish NZ First, and holding the electorate until 2005 when Bob Clarkson won the seat back for National, which meant Peters had lost its only electoral seat for NZ First.
Peters stood for election in Tauranga again in 2008 as an NZ First MP, but was overwhelmingly beaten by National’s Simon Bridges, who held the seat until 2022 when he resigned from politics as then leader of National.
Bridges also lived in the suburb of Matua during his stint as Tauranga MP.
National has retained the seat ever since, currently held by Sam Uffindell who bucked the Matua trend as the suburb of choice for Tauranga MPs and lives in a multimillion dollar property in rural Paengaroa.