MP property rich list: Our MPs have stakes in a combined $379 million of property – who owns the most?

Richard and Suze Redmayne at Tunnel Hill, coastal Turakina. Suze Redmayne has the highest-value property portfolio of any MP. Photo / supplied

Why does it matter? MPs make decisions that can heavily impact property values – which are often enmeshed with their own personal and family fortunes.

That’s why under Parliamentary rules they have to declare the existence of all business, property and other legal interests for “transparency and confidence”.

It’s important to note a beneficial interest doesn’t imply full ownership. In 2021, David Seymour had to correct the record after it was revealed that while he did not own property, he was the beneficiary of a trust that owned his father’s house, his grandparents’ holiday home and an empty section.

The top five

#1: Suze Redmayne, National – Rangitīkei, $24.3 million

National MP Suze Redmayne at Parliament in 2023. Her farm is worth $18m and her family’s home and Auckland apartment are worth more than $3m each.

Redmayne follows her predecessor Ian McKelvie as both the MP for Rangitīkei and holder of the top spot on the MP property rankings.

Redmayne declared a farm, a family home and an Auckland apartment all owned by trusts. The farm is worth $18m and her family’s home and Auckland apartment are worth around $3m each.

#2: Christopher Luxon, National – Botany, $15.2 million

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has sold a lot of property recently, leaving him with two homes each worth $7m and one investment property.

Since becoming Prime Minister, Christopher Luxon has sold his Wellington apartment and three of his Auckland investment properties.

This has left him with two homes – one in Auckland’s Remuera and one on Waiheke Island – and one investment property. His two homes are both worth $7m, although recently the Waiheke property was worth $10m, making them the most valuable houses owned by MPs.

Only two MP properties – farms owned by Suze Redmayne and Andrew Hoggard – are worth more.

#3: Barbara Kuriger, National – Taranaki-King Country, $14.6 million

The value of Barbara Kuriger’s farms is $11.5m while her houses and apartment are worth a total of $3.1m

Farmer-turned-MP Barbara Kuriger declared interests in family homes in New Plymouth and Te Awamutu, two dairy farms in Taranaki, and – like many MPs – an apartment in Wellington.

The combined value of the farms is $11.5m, while the houses and apartment are worth a total of $3.1m.

#4: Carl Bates, National – Whanganui, $13.6 million

A Parliamentary inquiry into Whanganui MP Carl Bates’ declaration of financial interests cleared him of wrongdoing and exposed a loophole in Parliament’s rules it recommended be addressed in a future review.

Bates’ spot on this list is slightly ambiguous. He has an interest in 25 more properties than he declared.

A Parliamentary inquiry recently ruled that he was not required to declare them under the rules, but the Registrar of Pecuniary Interests Sir Maarten Wevers recommended that Parliament review those rules.

The 25 properties combined are worth about $10.5 million.

Further complicating the estimated value of Bates’ property interests is the fact the Herald was unable to identify three of the the properties Bates did declare. The $13.6m estimate therefore includes the median value of a house in Whanganui for Bates’ family home.

It is likely the actual value of Bates’ home is above the Whanganui median.

#5: Parmjeet Parmar, ACT, $11.1 million

ACT MP Parmjeet Parmar declared five Auckland properties. Photo / NZ National Party

Former National List MP and now ACT MP Parmjeet Parmar declared five Auckland properties: a $2.9m home, 3 rentals worth a total of $5m, and a $3.2m commercial property.

What about the other parties?

The MP property rich list is dominated by National MPs.

Four more National MPs follow Parmar: Nicola Willis, Andrew Bayly, Simon Watts and Tama Potaka – before another ACT MP, Andrew Hoggard makes an appearance.

In the 11th spot, Winston Peters breaks the National/ACT stranglehold and then Willie Jackson makes an appearance for Labour at 17th.

There are no Green or Te Pāti Māori MPs in the top 20, so let’s look in more detail at the MP with the biggest property interests in each of the remaining parties.

Winston Peters, NZ First, $7.3 million

Winston Peters owns homes in Auckland and Northland.

Veteran MP and leader of NZ First Winston Peters has a $4.4m house in Auckland. After Luxon’s two $7m homes and Judith Collins’ $4.425m house, it is the fourth most valuable house owned by an MP.

Peters also owns land and a house in Whananaki in Northland, worth $2.9m.

Willie Jackson, Labour, $5.6 million

Labour MP Willie Jackson declared three family homes: two in Auckland and one in Rotorua, and – like many MPs – an apartment in Wellington.

Former broadcaster and Labour MP since 2017, Willie Jackson declared three family homes: two in Auckland and one in Rotorua, and an apartment in Wellington.

One of the Auckland homes is worth $3.4m while the other three properties have a combined valued of $2.1m.

Celia Wade-Brown, Green Party, $2.9 million

Celia Wade-Brown holds interests in more property than anyone else in the Green Party.

Celia Wade-Brown, the former Mayor of Wellington, entered parliament via the Green Party list replacing Golriz Ghahraman.

Wade-Brown declared a rental property in Wellington’s Island Bay and a “Family home and native forest” in the Wairarapa with a combined value of $2.9m.

Debbie Ngarewa-Packer, Te Tai Hauāuru – Te Pāti Māori, $1.2m

Te Pāti Māori co-leader Debbie Ngarewa-Packer has declared three properties with a combined value of $1.2m

Co-leader of Te Pāti Māori and MP for Te Tai Hauāuru Debbie Ngarewa-Packer has declared her family home plus a house under development and an empty section.

The three together have a combined value of $1.2m.

Te Pāti Māori’s youngest MP, Hana-Rāwhiti Maipi-Clarke, is vying with Packer for the party’s largest property interest.

Maipi-Clarke’s family home in Beach Haven and family whenua in the Bay of Islands could well be worth more than $1.2m, but the Herald was unable to identify the properties.

Party averages

The average per-MP property interest is $3.16m. But how does the average differ across party lines?

On average, National MPs have interests in property worth more than double the Labour average – $4.6m versus $2m.

A relatively small number of large farms skew the National figures high. But even when farms are removed from the comparison, National MPs’ property holdings still sit at nearly double those of Labour MPs.

The removal of farmland from the calculation does put ACT MPs into the lead though, with an average of $3.8m of non-farm property each.

What property types do MPs choose?

The majority of MPs’ property interests are in family homes. Two hundred and thirty million – 61% of the total value – are ‘family home’ declarations.

Many MPs own apartments in Wellington. These too are classified as family homes.

Some MPs explicitly declare “family homes” and “rental” properties, while others simply classify everything as residential.

Sixteen million dollars worth of residential property could be either rentals, or family homes – meaning the combined rental portfolios of our MPs are worth between $53m and $69m.

Why does it matter?

MPs make decisions that impact property values, including their own.

Recent ones have included:

Should foreign buyers be allowed?What should the immigration settings be?What should urban planning zoning rules be?Should agricultural emissions be taxed?How much public housing should Kāinga Ora build, and Should there be some form of capital gains tax?

When the current Government took office it took only 114 days for it to restore deductibility for mortgage interest on residential investment properties – which had been an election promise.

It is difficult to estimate the impact of this single law change on MPs’ personal bottom lines without knowing the details of their wider financial situations.

But we can get a sense of the potential value of interest rate deductions. Assuming thirty year mortgages with 30% deposits and an average interest rate of 6% over the term of the mortgage a number of MPs could be making mortgage interest payments on the order of $50,000 a year.

In the 39% tax bracket, deducting this from their income puts nearly $20,000 back in their pockets.

To estimate the total value of our MPs’ property interests, the Herald used the most recent capital valuation for each property. For a small number of properties that couldn’t be identified, estimated median values from OneRoof were used instead.

The Herald’s analysis includes the official 2025 declarations made in January, additional properties MPs have purchased since then, and properties the Herald has identified as needing to be declared.

Chris Knox is a scientist turned data-journalist who investigates the stories behind the numbers, and creates interactives for Herald readers to explore them.