PHOTO: Quiet Auckland streets are being turned into huge construction zones as townhouses and apartment complexes sprout up – and some homeowners are unhappy. Credits: Video – Newshub; Image – Getty
Homeowners in west Auckland are banding together and selling their houses in lots to developers and making even more money out of the intense market.
Quiet, suburban streets are being turned into huge construction zones as townhouses and apartment complexes sprout up.
It’s all because of the Auckland Unitary Plan allowing for higher buildings in residential areas to cope with the super city’s growth.
The plan was put on paper by the council in 2010 but now residents are seeing it with their own eyes and for some the reality is confronting.
Recently three neighbouring west Auckland properties were auctioned off together for just under $6 million – each property owner pocketing almost $2m.
One of the properties sold is an 809-square-metre, 1950s, three-bedroom house. But no one cares for the house – for developers the money is in the mud.
“Apparently we’re zoned for seven stories so anything up to that,” the seller says.
The seller didn’t want to be identified as the issue is controversial among locals.
Under Auckland’s Unitary Plan, he and his neighbours are zoned for terraced housing and apartments so the three owners got together and thought outside the square.
“We were like ‘okay let’s maybe team up to see if we can get a good deal’ and it just snowballed from there. Within two weeks we had sold at auction,” the seller says.
Given the house was once purchased for around $450,000 it’s a huge capital gain – $1.5m.
Others on his street are doing the same. Classic Kiwi homes on what was once an ordinary-looking suburban street are being bowled over for townhouses or apartments.
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