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Ngatea launches campaign to attract Auckland buyers | Stuff.co.nz
A township with a population of 1200 is looking to catapult itself into the booming housing market as the next residential hot spot for Aucklanders.
Hauraki District Council has launched a campaign to entice retirees and first home buyers from Auckland to Ngatea's newest subdivision, Northern Estate.
And it seems Aucklanders have heeded Ngatea's call, with the council fielding around 60 enquiries from potential buyers after setting up a stall at the Auckland Home Show in early September.
Community services manager Steve Fabish said the subdivision was being rolled out in stages, with stages one and two offering 40 lots between them.
Sections were being marketed considerably lower than prices in Ngatea's surrounding areas, such as Hamilton, Coromandel Peninsula and Pokeno, ranging between $140,000 to $155,000.
The council wanted to drive development and expansion in the town, Fabish said, and looked to enhance Ngatea.
It was currently offered as a land package but Fabish said they were working with building firms to encourage to them to purchase some of the sections and build spec homes.
"Quite a few of the people who approached us at the home show were developers and people wanting to invest in affordable rental accommodation."
Fabish said Ngatea was a centre for easy access to Auckland and Hamilton as well as the Coromandel Peninsula. While the campaign targeted Aucklanders, there had also been interest from locals.
"We're also targeting the local Thames Valley people that want affordable sections in a nice town, a nice, small community to live in."
Ngatea launches campaign to attract Auckland buyers | Stuff.co.nz
Marketing consultant Jillian O'Neill said they were "blown away" by the response at the home show, but not surprised.
"I think the timing for us has been perfect in that there have been other developments closer to Auckland such as Te Kowhata and Pokeno but they are all sold out or their prices have gone up too much."
Negotiations were already underway on "significant number of lots", she said, and around 50 people would travel to Ngatea in the coming weeks, where they would be introduced to community facilities.
The subdivision had attracted interest from investors too, which O'Neill said would add to the town's limited pool of rental properties ahead of the opening of New Zealand's first Chinese-owned ice cream factory at nearby Kerepehi Industrial Park.
The factory was currently under construction and production at the factory is scheduled to start in April 2016.
It was expected to create between 40 to 50 new jobs and Fabish said the company appeared keen to employ locals.
Three week's after the housing campaign was launched the council scraped development contributions, a move applauded Paeroa ward councillor and economic development committee chairperson Toby Adams.
"To be a council that doesn't ask for development contributions is another feather in our cap and an added."
However, council could still ask for financial contributions from developers to mitigate any effects a development could have.
Engineering services manager Adrian De Laborde said financial contributions were different to development contributions and would be worked out on case by case basis. networks.
"For example, if the council needed to upgrade its water pipes as a result of a subdivision the developer would be expected to cover."
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