Affordable Wellington apartments have buyers ‘roaring"

Century 21 New Zealand

Monday, 20 August 2018

Affordable Wellington apartments have first-home buyers ‘roaring’

A soon-to-be built 56-apartment development in Newtown is set to provide much-needed affordable first-home options for Wellingtonians, with interest incredibly strong despite the development only just being officially launched onto the market.

“Forty-one of the apartments have already been presold, proving the Wellington first-home buyer market will roar when the right product is delivered,” says Alen Moshi of Wellington’s Century 21 First Choice Realty who is the exclusive agent for the development.

Mr Moshi says the area is ideal for brownfields redevelopment, given its proximity to the city centre, Wellington Hospital, and its great transport links.

Located at 16 Constable Street and bordering Newtown Avenue, the site has been home to the Salvation Army for a number of years. The developers are brothers Craig and Greg Walton who have recently been granted resource consent.

Wellington Mayor Justin Lester says it’s highly encouraging to see private developers taking the initiative to give serious thought to affordable housing in the city.

“The private sector is a key piece of the housing puzzle, and the benefit of being serious about affordability means that it becomes an option for more people to buy homes – particularly for young families and first-time home owners.”

The Mayor says that it’s important that developers and agents are talking to prospective first home buyers and first home builders about the Council’s $5,000 rates rebate, which became available from 1 July.

“As a city, we are all working towards the same goal of making sure that we’re making Wellington an affordable place for people to live in,” says Mr Lester.

Known as The Village, the attractive low-rise apartment complex will be clustered in blocks dubbed Chelsea, Greenwich, Brixton, Hampstead, Battersea, and Camden. Fully earthquake compliant, the development will also include a central and shared courtyard.

Good urban design will be a significant feature of the development with plenty of provision for green spaces including lawns, trees, plantings, and outside seating.

The Wellington region has experienced strong price growth with its residential housing stock in recent years with city rents also reaching unprecedented heights.

Alen Moshi says the two-bedroom apartments are affordably priced starting from $550,000.

“It’s also important to note that the two-bedroom apartments will qualify for the Welcome Home Loan grant of $10,000 for an individual or $20,000 for a couple. People can then add this grant to their KiwiSaver to form a deposit.

“We anticipate huge interest. This development is living proof you can still buy a brand new attractive apartment in inner-city Wellington for an affordable price,” said Mr Moshi.

Link to the listing: https://www.century21.co.nz/property/residential/buy/nz/60/newtown/439266

ENDS

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