A building company has offered to cover up to $20,000 in rent for the buyer of a house and land package it is marketing in Tuakau, on the Auckland-Waikato border.
Ray White Pukekohe, which is marketing the new build package in the Booker Estate development on behalf of Jennian Homes Franklin, said the building company wanted help buyers who were struggling to get a foot on the property ladder.
Ray White agent Jonathan Ziesler said the $20,000 offer was the equivalent of around $550 a week for nine months.
“For a construction loan, buyers are having to pay the construction payments and also pay rent, which limits the affordability for a lot of families," he said.
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“We’ve acknowledged the fact that families trying to get into a brand new home are struggling, but we don’t want to rule it out for families trying to get into new warm quality homes, so together we’ve come up with a way to help.”
Michelle Costello, who owns the Jennian Homes Franklin franchise with her husband Vincent, said the payments would help buyers during the construction period. “These offers have been around before, so we’re doing this to test the water and generate interest,” she said.
The offer is available to whoever buys the planned three-bedroom house on a 550sqm site in the development. She said they had decided to drop the price for the home and land to $955,000 to help Kiwi families get into a new home.
“Generally people have to sell their existing house and go into a rental while they build. Buyers have a budget, they’ve got the stress of interest and construction payment. We’re really passionate and wanted to do our best to promote a new home.”
Ziesler said $550 was the average weekly rent for the Tuakau area.
Costello was confident they could meet that the company would meet the nine-month time-frame for the build once the property title was made available in August.
Ziesler added: “Tuakau is attracting new people, they’re getting a brand-new home, a good quality build on a family-sized section.”
The agent said that houses in the town on the Waikato River, 10 minutes south of the Franklin regional centre of Pukekohe, were considered more affordable than the new subdivision of Paerata Rise, north of Pukekohe but another 15 minutes closer to the city. He added that some top new developments in nearby Pukekohe would be asking $1.8m to $1.9m when they go on the market.
“This sort of house would have been $1.4m last year in Paerata Rise, maybe $1.2m this year. And for under $1m that price includes Watercare contribution, landscaping, fencing, driveways,” he said.
“Buyers’ biggest concerns when they’re building are unknown costs, so we can control the price with this offer.”
The rent payments will be made weekly or fortnightly for buyers, either in their existing rental or in a rental sourced by Ray White, the company said.
Lot 16, in the Booker Estate, in Tuakau, is for sale.
