Supporting whānau into Home Ownership

Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei are driven to build more quality housing solutions on the papa kāinga. And we know there is much excitement and anticipation for the 24 whare that we are building for whānau to purchase in Ōrākei on Hawaiki Street.

The poor quality of existing housing and the unaffordability for many to own their own home is not a new problem, but it’s a problem that has been exacerbated by a worsening housing crisis and the impacts of COVID-19. The recent weather events too have displaced thousands, and driven even more need for quality, well-built homes.

Our own feedback from whānau has reiterated the need for housing on the papa kāinga. This has been backed up by studies and surveys that have been done over the years for housing whānau.

Tāmaki Makaurau is one of Aotearoa’s most expensive housing markets so it’s unsurprising that over half of the hapū do not own their own home. While there is nothing inherently wrong with renting over one’s lifetime, home ownership is traditionally one of the key ways that New Zealanders have grown their personal wealth. And wealth, regardless of the form of the assets it is held as, has a significant effect on the economic and social outcomes for whānau, and for the wider hapū.

Home ownership is proven to have many positive implications for the prosperity of the iwi, improving quality of life, culture, education and employment outcomes. So, we see this upcoming development as a very important initiative, building on the success of Kāinga Tuatahi.

New papa kāinga housing

Our intention for the development on Hawaiki Street is to ensure the homes are as affordable as possible without compromising quality, allowing many whānau who are renting to purchase their own whare and allowing those who are currently living outside of Ōrākei back to the whenua.

The Hawaiki development will offer quality whānau-oriented terraced homes of 1, 2 and 4-bedrooms with the option to purchase a 1 and 4-bedroom home together to allow for intergenerational living. The 1-bedroom unit will have its own bathroom and kitchen but is adjoined to the 4-bedroom home which is ideal for kaumātua, or even students to live alongside their whānau.  

We have been working hard to ensure the cost of the homes are as low as possible. The prices will be made up of the cost of building the whare only, and will not include the cost of the land (which will continue to be owned by the hapū) or any of the civils (groundwork, drainage infrastructure etc). However, with rising construction costs and supply constraints, the homes may still be out of reach for some people and so we have made a commitment to offer further assistance through a shared ownership model.

Shared ownership

Unlike Kāinga Tuatahi where Whai Rawa provided mortgages directly to those who wanted to purchase a home, we will not be providing mortgages at Hawaiki. Instead, we are excited to partner with BNZ and Westpac who whānau can apply to for mortgages.  This is an important step to ensuring we can sustainably build more whānau housing.

Whānau who wish to purchase a whare but don’t have a large enough deposit may be eligible for shared ownership where Whai Rawa will contribute up to 25% of the cost and retain ownership for that portion of the home. Whānau will be able to borrow less from the bank – making their mortgage repayments lower over their repayment term. And once they are in a position to do so, whānau can then buy Whai Rawa out to retain full ownership of the house.

This is significant support and we hope it will help more whānau into home ownership on the papa kāinga.

We are committed to helping to create wealth for future generations – ngā uri o Tuperiri – while improving the lives of current hapū members and believe this initiative will help to do both.

In the coming week, we will be sending out a special edition e-pānui all about Hawaiki and details on how to apply. Kia mau tonu mai!