Thirteen out of 14 apartments in a boutique development in central Auckland were snapped up within just two weeks of hitting the market.
Just one apartment in the planned Koa Flats, in Meadowbank, is still available to buy, for $810,000, with the rest of apartments now sold or under contract.
Sale prices ranged from $650,000 to $925,000.
The three-storey high-end development by Ockham Residential is expected to be completed by mid-2023.
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Ockham founder Mark Todd said Koa Flats, the company’s first development in the eastern suburbs and its smallest so far, would be like a mini-Melrose Place, complete with a communal plunge pool and barbecue area.
All 14 of the one and two-bedroom units in Koa Flats were sold in just one night but a couple of sales fell through. However, all but one were quickly filled by people on the wait list.
The rapid sales reflected the demand for quality, affordable real estate in Auckland, said Todd.
“There’s very, very strong demand for relatively affordable housing options in high value locations.
Ockham’s Aalto development in Morningside, Auckland, has sold out. Photo / Supplied
“There’s a fair bit of state housing around there but on the other hand it’s really walkable - it’s like seven minutes on the train into town. It’s really closely connected to the CBD and waterfront.”
Meadowbank was the kind of place where people want to live so they don’t spend all their time commuting and more such developments are needed, Todd said.
“Plus, it puts a nail in the coffin of those naysayers who said you’d never get 70 per cent of Auckland’s new housing over the next 30 years in the existing urban environment.”
A single brick house was removed to make way for the 14 new units, something Todd said was in line with his belief in high quality, high density urban regeneration.
Another project, the sold out Aalto in Morningside, saw one old villa taken away to be replaced by 39 apartments, which also shows what can be done on a small site.
“It’s just propaganda driven by the land developers that say you need to release land to mediate housing prices – that’s just not the case at all,” Todd said.
Ockham had finished around 750 apartments in 12 years and has another 760 to deliver over the next three years, Todd said.
“I’m a real believer in creating what we asked for in the Auckland Plan, which is a quality compact city.
”We like to be real advocates for that and lead by example to show that’s how you build a quality, compact city and stop this narrative that sprawl is good.
“It’s not good for anyone – it’s not good for families, it’s not good for mental health, it’s not good for our carbon footprint .
“The only thing urban sprawl is good for is lazy, old-fashioned, large-scale land developers.”
The Koa Flats apartments were sold predominantly to first home buyers and did not take the removal of a stately home to be achieved.
Ockham’s Greenhouse development in Ponsonby, central Auckland. Photo / Supplied
Todd said that people who were worried heritage suburbs will be impacted by a recent Government directive to build taller complexes closer to the inner city need not worry as there are plenty of protections in place for the likes of Ponsonby, St Marys Bay, parts of Parnell and Devonport.
But he also said Aucklanders had no option but to embrace apartment and terrace house living because of the huge expense of traditional housing. “The average price in Meadowbank is $2m. We just bought 14 to market that were less than $1m.”
While Koa Flats apartments were relatively affordable, Ockham’s market overall was simply “urban regeneration”, Todd said.
“We want to reinforce high quality, high density living in places that are well-served by public transport and amenity and Meadowbank fits that bill.”
While Ockham’s The Greenhouse, in Ponsonby, will be as expensive as any apartment in Auckland on a square metre basis, most of Ockham’s portfolio was relatively affordable, he said.
“About 50 per cent of it is with KiwiBuild and in partnership with Marutuahu (iwi), and then about 20 per cent of our portfolio is build to rent.”
Mark Todd: "There’s very, very strong demand for relatively affordable housing options in high value locations." Photo / Fiona Goodall
Ockham has one build to rent building finished in Mt Albert and another is going up on the corner of K Road and Newton Road, but Todd is unsure if these kind of buildings, which provide managed, long-term rental, is a long-term solution.
“I sort of sit on the fence about it. I still think there are lot’s of benefits, cultural and psychological in outcome, particularly for children in being able to live in houses their parents own.”
Among Ockham’s 13 completed developments in Auckland are projects like Daisy in Mt Eden, which includes 33 apartments over six levels with three Special Housing Area affordable apartments.
Bernoulli Gardens in Hobsonville Point has 120 apartments, including 39 Axis (affordable) homes, and Set Buildings at the Avondale Racecourse has 72 apartments with six Special Housing Area apartments.
Current projects include The Greenhouse in Williamson Ave in Ponsonby which will have 101 apartments across 10 floors and two basements as well as ground floor commercial spaces. This is Ockham’s flagship project and is set to be relaunched this spring.
Aroha, in Great North Road, will have 117 apartments in two buildings, including 47 KiwiBuild, and is Ockham’s third collaboration with Marutuahu iwi.
