‘Affordable housing is not a pipe dream’

Award-winning Ka¯inga Ora and KiwiBuild developments are proof affordable housing can still be comfortable and attractive. Mikaela Wilkes reports.

The concept of affordable housing has changed significantly since the uniform state houses of the 50s and 60s.

These days, many social houses are deliberately indistinguishable from their KiwiBuild counterparts, which are aimed at helping first homebuyers into a challenging market.

We sat down with some of the people behind award-winning developments to talk about why an affordable and appealing home doesn’t have to be a pipe dream.

Ko¯ tuitui in Manukau, Auckland

The Ko¯ tuitui neighbourhood, by Avant Group and Te A¯ kitai Waiohua, scooped a win at last week’s nationwide Property Industry Awards.

It was one of 11 nominees in the Homes and Communities Community and Affordable Housing Property category.

‘‘I’m stoked for the team,’’ said Avant Group director and development manager, Mat Peters.

‘‘The mantra for us was, first home-buyers are not looking for a cheap home. They’ve got a budget, and are looking for a firsthome investment.’’

The brand-new neighbourhood of more than 100 homes is located just 500m from the Manukau city centre.

Property Council New Zealand said it had been a ‘‘huge success’’ for all parties involved. Of the homes, 61 were sold in advance of their completion in December 2020, and 36 of those were KiwiBuild.

Half were priced for sale below $600,000 (the Auckland median house price was $1.25 million in October, according to the Real Estate Institute). Nearly all were placed below $700,000 – the price cap Auckland first-home buyers must fall under to access their KiwiSaver.

‘‘Ko¯ tuitui is a neighbourhood of architecturally-designed two and three-bedroom homes in a master planned scheme that has proven to be extremely popular,’’ the judges said.

Their features include courtyards, generously-proportioned kitchens, engineered stone benchtops, undermount sinks and quality fittings complete with an extensive list of appliances.

‘‘Often when developers are making houses affordable, they strip things out,’’ said Peters. ‘‘We managed to put them in, like heaters in every room.’’

The terraced houses have been designed and built to achieve a Homestar 6 rating, the Property Council judges said, ‘‘with landscaped private grounds that extend out to the streetscape and pocket park, places for children to play and ample parking for residents and visitors’’.

‘‘The layout of the homes emphasises the importance of clever and efficient space management,’’ the judges said.

‘‘Ko¯ tuitui’s architectural design and distinctive use of hard-wearing materials is a fresh new urban look and feel for downtown Manukau City.’’

‘‘We’re really proud,’’ said Peters. ‘‘If you find areas that are a little depressed and in need of a lift, and you build not just decent houses, but decent neighbourhoods, they will get that lift.’’

Ta¯ maki Regeneration Company

The ‘one size fits all’ standalone state house approach has gone. Today, it’s called social housing, and the state-owned houses are mixed in with privately-owned properties.

That was a deliberate move by Ta¯ maki Regeneration Company (TRC) to remove the stigma traditionally attached to social housing, said strategy and performance general manager Shelley Katae.

In the past four years, TRC has built 900 new homes in Glen Innes, Pt England and Panmure, and helped at least 100 wha¯ nau into affordable homeownership.

‘‘We need to support our wha¯nau to achieve their aspirations,’’ said Katae. ‘‘Yes, we’re building homes – but the goal is supporting an equity shift within the Ta¯ maki community.’’

The new one- to five-bedroom homes are built to a Homestar 6 rating, and design is influenced by future homeowners and what’s important to Ma¯ori wha¯ nau. That means play areas for children, places where parents can supervise, space for shoes to be taken off outside the front door, and not placing a toilet next to the kitchen.

TRC is providing access to homeownership ‘‘right across the housing continuum’’, said Katae. Under a shared homeownership programme, they build the home, mentor wha¯ nau through a threeto four-year process, and split the sale price.

On an $800,000 house, the wha¯ nau might pay a deposit on $600,000, and TRC retains ownership of the remaining $200,000. They also won’t have to service as big a mortgage.

‘‘They can pay the remainder off over 15 years,’’ said Katae. This is subject to capital gains, so if the house goes up to $900,000 in value, what TRC owns is proportionate.

‘‘We still get payment back for the total house, but we’re quite different to the private sector. It’s not on day one.’’

TRC also provides social housing (20 per cent), build-to-rent, rent-to-own and affordable first homes, said Katae.

‘‘I personally believe affordable housing in this country is not a pipe dream.’’

‘‘If you find areas that are a little depressed and in need of a lift, and you build not just decent houses, but decent neighbourhoods, they will get that lift.’’ Mat Peters