Tribe starts on first $550K affordable houses
Ngai Tahu Property has begun construction of its first affordable $550,000 homes at Hobsonville, Auckland.
The South Island tribe teamed up with the New Zealand Super Fund and New Ground Capital to fund construction of the first homes before any marketing.
It was Ngai Tahu Property’s first foray into the Auckland market and the first direct property investment for the NZ Super Fund, Ngai Tahu Property chief executive David Kennedy said.
Normally, funders require developers to sell a proportion of homes off the plans before work begins but the consortium is going ahead before a sales programme by Colliers International is launched in September.
The NZ Super Fund and Ngai Tahu Property are each investing 48 per cent of the capital for the development, with New Ground Capital contributing the remaining 4 per cent.
About half the 208 homes will be priced below the Auckland median house price of $890,000, and 30 per cent will be in keeping with the Hobsonville Point Axis programme at prices ‘‘up to $550,000’’.
Prices of other homes are expected to range from $650,000 to $1.3 million.
Forty-seven of the homes will be retained by the consortium as rentals to be managed by New Ground Capital.
Anyone can apply to rent one of them. Lease terms of up to seven years will be offered to provide security of tenure and allow leaseholders to shorten their lease should circumstances change.
The development is called Kerepeti and is being built on two one-hectare sites called Kerewhenua (with 111 homes) and Uku (with 97 homes).
Each site will have apartments, terrace homes and walk-up apartments based on a design by Context architects.
The homes will be built by Classic Builders and Naylor Love on the Kerewhenua site, and Jalcon Homes and Haydn & Rollet on the Uku site.
Kennedy said the shared vision for the development was to ensure public and iwi funds were reinvested into infrastructure for the long-term benefit of investors and those who live there.
Construction of the first homes is due to be completed by early next year.
Over the next eight to 10 years Hobsonville Point is expected to grow to the size of Devonport.
The township covers 167ha and will also include apartment blocks, a retirement village, shops, restaurants and offices.