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Former Napier MP Stuart Nash says he’s now looking for “another project” as his character Hawke’s Bay family home hits the market.
The five-bedroom villa on Napier’s Bluff Hill that’s owned by the ex-Labour minister and his wife Sarah went to market on Monday, but the now-recruitment director says he’s not leaving the region anytime soon.
“We love this place, so we’re not moving out of the Bay. There’s a rumour I was heading to Wellington which is where I’m working at the moment, but we are definitely staying in the Bay.”
He said the character home had served him and his family well for the 12-odd years he’d lived there, many of them as a high-profile Cabinet minister and Napier MP.
“It’s a big place, built in 1915 by a well-known Napier architect. It’s been well modernised with good central heating for winter and a great pool out back for summer.”
Sarah Nash and Napier MP Stuart Nash talking to media after his resignation from politics. Photo / Warren Buckland
The property sits on a 1739 square metre section, and as well as the heated pool offers a patio area, a separate office/studio, basketball ‘D’, and a large lawn.
Security shouldn’t be a worry for potential buyers either, Nash said.
“The place is fully fenced. We’ve got a male red labrador who’s so far failed to find any way to get out of the property.
“We also put a big gate in when I was doing the firearms reform after receiving some messages that weren’t that flash.”
According to Napier council records, the couple paid $545,000 for the property in 2010. A valuation in September 2020 saw the property worth $1,170,000.
“We won’t sell if we don’t get the price we want,” Nash said.
“We’re not going to fire sale it. We have a price in mind and if we get that, that’s fantastic and if we don’t then we won’t sell.”
The five-bedroom villa is being touted as the ultimate family home. Photo / NZ Sotheby's
The couple were opting not to have open homes and were taking serious appointments only.
“We’ve had a few people through. We’re not holding open homes because I’m told you get people through who are just curious to see where someone lives rather than keen to buy the place.
“We’re possibly a little more protective of our privacy than normal because of my past role.”
NZ Sotheby’s International Realty sales associate Phil Quinney said feedback had been really positive so far because of the versatility of the property and its suitability for a family.
At this stage, Quinney said they were inviting buyers offering northwards of the $1.5 million mark.
“[$1.5 million] isn’t going to buy it but something northwards would. We never know what a vendor might accept until we put an offer in front of them anyway, so it remains to be seen.”
The property is being sold by tender, with a deadline of December 7.
Mitchell Hageman joined Hawke’s Bay Today in late January. From his Napier base, he writes regularly on social issues, arts and culture, and the community
