A pioneering affordable housing project in Hornby has proven a winning formula by delivering a range of affordable housing solutions for low income Christchurch households.
The $12 million development, located behind the Hornby Public Library adjacent to the growing Hornby suburban retail and service centre, is a partnership comprising the New Zealand Housing Foundation (Housing Foundation), The Salvation Army, Abbeyfield Christchurch Incorporated, Housing Plus and, more recently, the Christchurch Methodist Mission where, to date, 25 households have been accommodated.
When completed in late 2016, the project will supply 44 affordable homes to include a mix of housing sizes and tenures ranging from housing for older adults to families. Up to half of the 44 homes within the development are set aside for older people.
The Housing Foundation, a charity housing trust, is wholly responsible for the project management and delivery of the land development and subdivision of the entire Hornby development. This significantly reduced the land and development costs to the other partners, enabling them to affordably deliver their housing. The Foundation also project-managed the delivery of The Salvation Army’s social and affordable houses, which have been successfully completed.
The Foundation is building ten single storey houses; four of these houses will be three bedrooms and six houses will have four bedrooms. These houses are aimed at assisting working families on low incomes into new, quality homes and on the pathway to home ownership.
With the Housing Foundation’s first home owner affordable housing model, the ingoing cost for a new house ranges from $330,000 for a 3 bedroom, to $350,000 for a four bedroom standalone house. This typically purchases 70% to 75% ownership of the property. Over time the home owners can purchase the remaining 25% to 30%. Kiwisaver first home deposit withdrawals as well as the Government’s HomeStart funding for households purchasing their first house can be used to provide a significant portion of the minimum $10,000 deposit requirement.
Project Manager for the Hornby Development, Bill King, says the development is an excellent example of a mixed tenure affordable housing development which has been initiated, managed and delivered by a partnership of well-known and respected community housing providers.
“The affordable housing options available to these families are either for the family to initially rent and then move to owning their home, or for the family to affordably purchase what they can of their home through its shared ownership (co-ownership product).The goal of the Housing Foundation is to offer families affordable housing options in a healthy, sustainable neighbourhood,” says King.
Five families are already signed up for this initiative and the first two of these families are moved in to their new homes on Friday 11 December 2015.
“By providing these new homes and different options to make home ownership affordable we hope to address some of the housing shortages as a result of the earthquakes. The Housing Foundation homes are particularly suited for those who are ready to move out of the private rental market or who were displaced from their own properties.”
Households can now register their interest in one of the remaining five Housing Foundation’s homes, subject to criteria.
The affordable housing being supplied by the Housing Foundation enables the Government to deliver on its goal of providing households with pathways to housing independence, a key principle in the Government’s Social Housing reform Programme.
“This affordable housing product has been a missing key element in New Zealand’s housing market. Without this option many New Zealand working households remain trapped in the rental market. What the Foundation offers is the opportunity for households to move out of renting and on the path to home ownership, at an affordable cost, with support from the Housing Foundation. This is an excellent opportunity for households to consider a long term housing option other than renting,” adds King.
Hornby is one of three projects with which the Housing Foundation is involved. The second project is the purchase of five houses from Fletcher Living in their Awatea development. The third project (known as Greater Christchurch) is the purchasing of seven new houses in affordable parts of Christchurch which they can then offer with their affordable housing products (rent and shared ownership/equity) to interested households.
The Foundation’s Hornby project has been supported by central government, the Christchurch City Council, the Rata Foundation (formerly The Canterbury Community Trust), The Tindall Foundation and a number of other philanthropic providers.
Each of the Foundation’s homes has been designed to be warm and energy efficient, and is being built by experienced, registered builders to a high standard, focused on attention to detail. Interested households can email info@housingfoundation, visit www.nzhf.org or call 0800 924 624