Where To Find Out About Special Housing Areas

What You Need To Know About Special Housing Areas

To help combat Auckland’s housing crisis, Special Housing Areas (SHAs) were established between 2013 and 2016 across the city where fast-track development of housing (including affordable housing) is planned to take place.

Criteria For Buying A Special Housing Area Affordable House

In order to ensure that the right people are able to purchase the affordable quota of houses in the Special Housing Areas, the following criteria was set:

• Have a gross household income, as at the date of the declaration, which does not exceed 120% of the Auckland median household income as set at the relevant date.
• Have paid a price for the affordable dwelling that is not more than the relative affordable price point of no more than 75% of the Auckland median house price.
• Intend to own and occupy the affordable dwelling exclusively as their residence for no less than three years after gaining title to the dwelling.
• Be a first home buyer and never have owned any other real property.
• Be a natural person purchasing the affordable dwelling in their own name and not in the name of any other person.

In Auckland SHAs were established as an interim measure while the Auckland Unitary Plan was being developed.  Some Special Housing Areas were disestablished in September 2016 and the last will be disestablished in May 2017

So while the promise of 154 Special Housing Areas in Auckland appears unlikely to be delivered in full, we are hearing of more ‘affordable’ options in the pipeline over the coming few years.

Our advice would be to take a look at Auckland Council’s full list of SHAs here and do further research online.

It is important to note following reasons why there may not be a readily accessible information about each SHA:

• Not all developments have a website or one specific person to contact.
• Some developers are not yet marketing SHA homes.
• The new sites or homes have already been sold.

Belmont Park Estate Special Housing Area

One such Special Housing Area that has ‘affordable’ opportunities being built is Belmont Park.

Belmont Park, is a new Special Housing Area subdivision South of Auckland which provides a relaxed country lifestyle to young growing families with shopping facilities, parks, recreational reserves and a primary school planned for the area.

Access to Southern motorway is only 10 minutes away, Manukau City Centre (25 minutes), Auckland CBD (45 minutes). A regular train service connects Pukekohe to Central Auckland.

First Home Buyers

For first home buyers, an important question to ask when researching for a first home is “which area is still affordable?”

Pukekohe, is New Zealand’s fastest growing secondary urban area. Today, Pukekohe offers not only excellent residential options and recreational opportunities.

Now, as the largest town in Franklin, Pukekohe combines city savvy with country charm, boutique-style shopping in its main street and a busy central business district.

Buying your new home in Pukekohe could be a great option for you!

These houses have now sold out

The Belmont Special Housing Area offers affordable 3-bedrooms, 2-bathrooms, double story duplex with superior locations, trendy design and quality construction.

The two-level duplex delivers a total floor area of 137m, which is noticeably larger than most other affordable home designs on the market today. The bedrooms are spacious and the layout offers a second bathroom.

The titles for the land are scheduled to be issued at the end of 2017. Building will be commencing immediately thereafter.

These houses have now sold out