Bargain homes for workers
Buyers in ‘essential services’ like police given opportunity
Thirty-four workers in “essential services” have won heavily discounted houses under a scheme aiming to help them afford to live in Auckland. The 34 teachers, nurses, police officers and residential construction workers have bought houses in Glen Innes at an “affordable” price of $650,000, even though their market value was $750,000 to $940,000.
The developer, Creating Communities, says it put subsidies totalling $6.23 million into the scheme.
Tamaki College teacher Brenton Moyes, who bought one of the houses with his wife, Renee, said that at first he “couldn’t believe it”.
“Renee is working at the airport. For me, work is literally two minutes down the road . . . It’s the place I want to live for the rest of my life.”
They had their first child just under two years ago and were thinking of joining other teachers forced to move out of Auckland because they couldn’t afford to buy a home.
“At the auctions the minimum was $750,000, we had been looking around thinking it was not even worth it,” Moyes said.
Creating Communities, a consortium formed in 2012 to build at least 260 new homes to replace 156 state houses at Glen Innes, was required by the Government to include at least 39 “affordable” homes, described at the time as “possibly owned or managed through other social or community housing providers”.
Consortium director Murdoch Dryden said five were sold to IHC’s social housing arm Accessible Properties, and the other 34 were offered to workers in “essential services”.
He said most developers required to include 10 per cent “affordable” homes as a condition for fast-track consent in Special Housing Areas were economically incentivised to build “something like a bedsit”.
“That is no good for a young family. Our view was that we would get a greater social dividend out of getting young families into the area, and giving them housing security so they can . . . build social networks and their kids develop a sense of home.”
Developers at Hobsonville and Waimahia ( Weymouth) have held ballots where demand exceeded supply of affordable homes, but Dryden’s group publicised its scheme only to schools and other community agencies in Glen Innes and chose people based on four criteria.
First-home buyers qualifying for Welcome Home loans with incomes below $130,000 for couples or $85,000 for individuals, but with a 10 per cent deposit and ability to service a mortgage.
Glen Innes connections.
Working in “essential services” (health, education, police, fire or residential construction).
Community service. Most of the houses are two- community bedroom, but three have three bedrooms and 23 have consents to add a third bedroom and garage when the buyer can afford it.
Dryden said the sale and purchase agreements stated an “expectation” that the buyers would live in their homes for at least two years, but that clause was not legally enforceable.
Two people from the company and two from the community chose the successful buyers.
Community housing spokesman Peter Jeffries said he was not aware of any other developer limiting houses to people in essential services, and said it was unfortunate Auckland Council rejected an affordable housing requirement in the Unitary Plan.