New buildings. Many looked empty. Loads of 'for sale' signs.
Why don't people want to buy them? Is it the price?
Some older 70s brick and tile types close the city are apparently selling in the $400 thousands. Newer ones seem to run more, depending on location. Wellington has a few steals at the moment.
But again, not many interested buyers.
Is it the economy? Is it the annoying body corporate fees? Is it the leaky building memories? The fact you can’t swing a cat in most of the living rooms? Having to see your neighbours in the lift? Are they poorly designed and made? Perhaps they overheat in summer?
Or is it just that we still want a stand-alone house with a backyard?
We just hate apartments?
The Government yesterday just announced a 23% reduction in new homes for Auckland as part of changes, but we are still getting 1.6m new homes. And many of them will be apartments.
My question is, will any of them sell?
There’s an entire block in Auckland, newly built by a developer, that had to be rented because they wouldn’t sell.
A recent housing survey found 80% of people would consider living in a standalone house.
69% a townhouse.
An apartment? One third.
I get it, ideally, we all want space and gardens and lawns to mow. But if we can’t get that and want somewhere to live, why aren’t we buying apartments?
Especially young people, who apparently don’t mind high-rise living as much.
We can’t be that dissimilar to the rest of the world, surely?
I think what it comes down to is that people don’t want to invest in something that’s relatively expensive vs. income, doesn’t appreciate like land, and may not sell quickly if you need to get rid of it.
Which makes you wonder who’s going to buy and live in all these one and two-beddy’s going up all over town.
Ryan Bridge is a New Zealand broadcaster who has worked on many current affairs television and radio shows. He currently hosts Newstalk ZB's Early Edition - where this article was sourced.
8 comments:
It's because it's a sh*thole that no self-respecting person would want to be anywhere near unless they enjoy the smell of stale urine or getting beaten up after 6pm.
And now Auckland is going to build 1.6 millón new apartments all over the city.
It’s ridiculous .
Much the same seems to be developing in Christchurch. We are looking to downsize as we are getting older and would love to move to a more central location. We have been having a look around, but are we going to move into one of those new two-bedroom flats - no way.
Cooped in an apartment is contrary to the spirit of both the original colonists and indigenous locals, and which persists. Many modern immigrants are fleeing intense housing at home. Then there is all the complications and expenses of Body Corporate. And the terror of some structure defect beyond what can be diagnosed by close inspection of one apartment. The likes of Germans have lived in apartments for generations. A far more compliant, considerate, ordered and compatible population. (Any comparisons should be made with societies of similar imprisonment statistics). For any apartments the risk of Kainga Ora buy in or nearby is considerable. Vehicle ownership, especially of more than one, is limited. So are very many hobbies.
As full-time working childless couples become more common, 2-br home units are likely to grow in popularity in my opinion. They are relatively affordable and require little maintenance. We returned to NZ after many years away and decided to retire in a South Island (Canterbury or Otago) town or small city. We bought a 1970s 2-br unit, one in a row of three. Ours is surrounded by a strip of ground (we are in the unit nearest the road) populated by a variety of attractive shrubs. It is 200 yards from the edge of the CBD. As we both present disabilities, the low-maintenance nature of the place is ideal. As for privacy and noise, in 4 years here we have never heard a squeak from surrounding neighbours (of which there are not that many as we are adjacent to a small car park). Buying in the right location is a key factor in ensuring hassle-free living.
Never mind all that, when are we going to abolish the Maori seats?
Having spent many years living in apartments overseas and many years as a homeowner of actual houses - both are great options for budgets and lifestyles. It I’ll be dammed before I rent or buy one of those little boxes that pass for apartments in this country - and the new ones in Oz - they’re bloody awful!
Bedrooms you can’t swing a cat in, kitchens that are just a line along a wall with zero bench space no storage spaces for anything and they don’t even think to give you space for a rubbish bin!
No views or balconies, poor ventilation or lack or aircon that struggles as soon as the heat rises a little bit….all in the name of sustainability mind you - what a load of utter bollocks!
As I said I’d happily live in an apartment again - with my family or as a singleton….but I’m not living in an overpriced shoebox.
They built lots of this junk in London in the 1960's, they call them slums.
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