Twenty-eight 'affordable' rental homes on Bennetts Rd in Koutu, Rotorua, are on track to be finished by November. Photo / Supplied
Twenty-eight 'affordable' rental homes on Bennetts Rd in Koutu, Rotorua, are on track to be finished by November. Photo / Supplied
The first tenants of 28 subsidised Rotorua rentals built for essential workers will be moving in by Christmas, a housing provider says.
It comes as TradeMe data out Wednesday showed Rotorua’s median rent up 2.6% year-on-year in February to $595 per week, with the wider Bay of Plenty region named New Zealand’s priciest at $680 per week.
The Home in Place rentals on Bennetts Rd, Koutu, are aimed at addressing housing affordability for “moderate-income” essential workers in healthcare, education, and emergency services.
The 28 three-bedroom, two-bathroom homes will have rents set at 80% of the market rate, made possible by a 25-year Ministry of Housing and Urban Development subsidy.
“Visually, that development is really taking shape. You can start to see it come to life now.”
Residents could move in before Christmas, she said.
Watchman Capital director Marcus Jacobson (left), JMP Project Management director Paul Miller, Watchman Capital director Andrea Jacobson, Home in Place NZ chief executive Larissa Bridge, Rotorua Lakes Council representative Simon Bell. Photo / Supplied
In September, Home in Place would launch a marketing campaign targeting essential workers in schools, hospitals, and emergency services to invite expressions of interest and early tenancy applications.
Bridge said the 80% market rent price would be reviewed at the time of delivery.
Based on the current market, a similar property cost $650 per week. Tenants would pay $520 per week - a saving of $6760 annually.
“[This] significantly eases the financial burden for essential workers when it comes to the cost of living,” she said.
“Housing affordability is one of the biggest challenges facing our essential workers … This development is a direct response to that need.”
Bridge said Home in Place purchased 28 of the development’s 58 homes for “affordable housing”. It was near schools, shops, green spaces, and Lake Rotorua.
30 homes to go on market mid-year
Watchman Capital director Andrea Jacobson said the 28 rentals would be finished by November. The 30 remaining market homes were on track for completion in the first quarter of next year.
Jacobson said those 30 homes were due to go on the market mid-year. A show home would be available for the launch.
She was pleased with the progress, which had remained on schedule.
The development cost was commercially sensitive, “but it represents a significant investment in Rotorua’s housing infrastructure”.
She said about 75 people were working on-site each day, with numbers expected to peak at 150. About 80% of the workforce were local residents.
Jacobson said it had locally sourced roofing, drainage, spouting, concrete, heating, plumbing, and electrical materials. Small tools and general materials had also been sourced from Rotorua suppliers.
She said the project would deliver 58 “much-needed” homes that would increase housing availability and support “a more balanced property market” in Rotorua.
The project was also driving employment, business growth, and long-term economic benefits for Rotorua, Jacobson said.
Progress is ‘great news’
Rotorua Lakes Council community and district development group manager Jean-Paul Gaston said housing remained a top priority for the council.
“We currently still have a shortage of all types of housing, including affordable rentals to support people on lower incomes, so progress towards catering for this group through developments like the Homes In Place development is great news.
