Village life for new development
A new multimillion-dollar housing development in Central Hawke’s Bay is pushing a return to traditional Kiwi village life as the answer to big-city gridlock.
With housing prices and land prices in Hastings and Napier skyrocketing, the rural village of O¯ tane has been chosen as the site for a new 20-section lifestyle development and developer Bill Livingston said the Tiffen Park development on Dee St might be the answer for those struggling to enter the property market.
“I guess we’re hoping the market is ready to see the value in those small village communities. You only have to turn on the TV in the morning to see how clogged those roads are in Auckland and Wellington and we’re hoping that the population is starting to see that these small communities have value and are an important part of the fabric of our society.”
Livingston said the sections, ranging from 880sq m to 3311sq m, would also appeal to “young millennials” looking to bring up a family in a safe environment.
“We wanted to create sites that were family-friendly and hobby-friendly, big enough to have a wood-splitter or a wood shed or to have a boat pad in the backyard. On sites closer to the city land is so valuable there’s no room for a boat trailer or a wood shed any more.
“We think this is an opportunity for people to decapitalise and reduce their mortgage and have some money in the bank, or for some young first-home owners to get started at a realistic value.”
Livingstone said two of the 20 sections were already under contract, with three more under conditional contract. The Tiffen Park development was named after pioneer and surveyor Henry Stokes Tiffen, who was responsible for laying out Clive and Havelock North.
Harcourts Waipukurau coowner Michael Harding said the 4.2ha site was formerly used as a farm.
“The land was purchased in February 2017 by Livingston properties Ltd, it was zoned residential and has been for a long time. It had been in the Jones family, who are local dairy farmers, for a long time, and was no longer required for the farm.”
They were keen to see that it would be a benefit to the local community if it was developed in an attractive way.
Section prices would start from $125,000 and titles would be available before Christmas, with remaining titles to be issued once other work was completed.
“Due to the fact that section prices are getting very expensive in the Hastings/Havelock North area, this property appeared to be a great opportunity for people who would like to build or own an affordable modern home with commuting distance to work in the Hastings area.
“The sections are an excellent range of sizes, and have underground power, fibre optic cable for internet and phones, town water and sewage.”
Harding said existing homes in O¯ tane were being snapped up by buyers from nearby Hastings and out-of-town buyers over the past 12 months.
The development was also “awesome” news for the continued growth of O¯ tane Primary School.
“It’s bringing a lot more youth to the area, which is fabulous for us,” principal Rachel Kingi said.
“O¯ tane is a really thriving community and there are a lot more houses that are going to pop up around that area.
“There are a lot of houses for sale on the outskirts of O¯ tane as well that are probably going to become subdivisions as well, and so that’s going to be awesome for us.
“We’ve had lots of roll growth over the past three years when we had a roll of 20, and we are up at 70 now. There are lots of people coming to the area already and houses are selling like hot-cakes.
“It has been really awesome for the area and more affordable for young families trying to get a start.”