Slow take-up for 'vertical village' retirement homes

Metlifecare's retirement village in Takapuna will be worth more than $100 million when all four stages are finished. Photo / Glenn Jeffrey

The first stage of the $100 million Metlifecare Takapuna opens thisSaturday three-quarters empty.

Manager Lynda Hull, who shifted from Metlifecare Kapiti to open the new five-level "vertical village", said only 20 of the first 78 apartment units were sold.

She attributed the lack of sales activity partly to the state of the property market but more to buyers' inability to see apartments until the last few weeks. "They haven't been able to see anything," she said.

The public is being invited to an open day from 2pm-4pm this Saturday.

Institutional investors said the Takapuna site's tight size and its price might have forced the business to build too intensively to appeal to older people. The property downturn may have also dashed people's expectations of house values, leaving them unable to afford to move to Metlifecare.

Carmel Fisher of Fisher Funds, with an 8 per cent Metlifecare stake, said she was "not overly concerned about slow demand" at Takapuna.

"Slow sales are consistent with what other villages are experiencing. It's a little disappointing but the fact that they have sold some is a fairly good early indication."

Forsyth Barr research head Rob Mercer said few analysts followed Metlifecare closely. "It's basically a private company which is listed," he said, referring to 82 per cent shareholder Retirement Villages NZ owned by Macquarie.

Haydn & Rollett have been ahead of the construction timetable on the stage-one Loggia Building which features an indoor/outdoor fireplace in a large community area, a dance/exercise room, restaurant, billiards room, library, outdoor BBQ area, crafts room and hairdressing salon.

Two-bedroom apartment units in what Metlifecare says will be the country's largest retirement village, on the corner of Shakespeare and Taharoto Rds, are selling from $592,000 and three-bedrooms from $698,000.

Metlifecare is yet to finish the 62-unit City Lights Building, the second stage of the Takapuna project which includes a swimming pool.

Exactly when stages three and four will go ahead is yet to be announced but the entire project will be worth more than $100 million when finished.

Metlifecare shares closed up 5c at $1.85 yesterday, down from a year-high of $4.60.