Auckland land sales – big and small - have rocketed post-Covid, which could leave many homeowners worried about what impact they’ll have on the value of their own property.
James Wilson, director of valuations of OneRoof’s data partner, Valocity, says there’s often good to come out of new developments.
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While construction work can cause disruption, the nature of Auckland’s Unitary Plan, planning laws and restrictions, all mean the end result is likely to be aesthetically pleasing.
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“New developments – whether a block of apartments or a few townhouses - can transform the look of your street. Often, the sites they are built on are occupied by properties that are run-down or a poor use of the land.
“A fresh development with a new design can produce good outcomes I don’t think you can always sit there and think it’s going to be bad for me as a neighbour.”
Loss of privacy can be a worry – especially if a single dwelling is replaced by several - but Wilson says that developers in general would rather mitigate impact through their style and design.
“We’ve all heard the stories of when it’s gone poorly but I think the design and planning criteria of the unitary plan is intended to promote intensification and protect neighbouring uses too.”
Wilson says larger scale developments can have an impact on saleability, especially in the immediate development stage when trucks, builders, earth-moving companies and heavy machinery are coming and going. “People don’t like to go to open homes and see a bulldozer next door,” he says.
But over the longer term, well-planned developments, like Addison in Takanini, in South Auckland, can reinvent an area.
Kāinga Ora's developments in Northcote and Mt Roskill bring the walkability and density of older Auckland suburbs to a neighbourhood regeneration. Photo / Supplied
“That was a series of run down sheds and a mix of old state and privately-owned rental properties. It wasn’t the most desirable location of a higher price bracket buyer,” he says.
“Addison came in with a staged development build and now we’ve had close to 15 years since the first stage went in and its now become a really desirable suburb which has got great shops and schools and great modern development so the properties adjoining that now have benefited from that area being reinvented. “
Properties around the Stonefields development in east Auckland have gone up in value since the old quarry site was turned into a master planned community, too, he says.
Tamsyn McDonald, Kāinga Ora project director for the organisation’s Northcote development, on Auckland’s North Shore, agrees a development can be great for the neighbourhood.
“Neighbours do have to live in a construction zone for a while and that’s pretty challenging at times but I think one of the key things we’ve done across all our projects is to be a good neighbour. We do a lot of communication with people living in the areas before we get underway.”
New amenities are being delivered along with Kāinga Ora’s Northcote development, which will benefit the whole community, including existing residents who are asked for their thoughts.
“It could be to help us design a playground or what do they think about having a bridge here, does that make sense, or what about a walkway, so those kind of conversations. They help inform what we’re trying to do.”
Many residents ask what will happen with parking and whether their road will get busier but infrastructure is often upgraded, such as water and sewer pipes, which creates more value for people.
In Northcote, the challenge was upgrading the stormwater which has benefited neighbouring sites, and the primary school is getting a complete rebuild to accommodate extra students.
The town centre is also being upgraded with Kāinga Ora working closely with Panuku, the council’s development arm.
“For a little bit of construction you get all these great things and once the new development is complete you get to use all those great things without all that construction noise around you.”
