{"id":2107,"date":"2025-09-04T20:15:07","date_gmt":"2025-09-04T20:15:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/2107\/"},"modified":"2025-09-04T20:15:07","modified_gmt":"2025-09-04T20:15:07","slug":"omokoroa-family-buy-first-home-through-shared-ownership-scheme","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/2107\/","title":{"rendered":"\u014cmokoroa family buy first home through shared ownership scheme"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Housing Foundation\u2019s 100-home development<\/a> offered first-home buyers on low or modest incomes a shot at getting on the property ladder through a shared ownership scheme.<\/p>\n

Seventy homes were available to buy in partnership with the foundation and 30 would be sold on the open market to help fund the scheme.<\/p>\n

Housing Foundation chief executive Dominic Foote said the homes ranged in price from $735,000 to $850,000, depending on the size and location.<\/p>\n

Families usually started by purchasing about 60% of the home \u2013 usually worth $450,000 to $500,000 \u2013 using their KiwiSaver and a traditional bank mortgage. The foundation owned the remainder.<\/p>\n

While they paid down the mortgage, families could also gradually buy back the foundation\u2019s share. They pay a modest annual management fee but no rent or interest on that portion.<\/p>\n

It typically took six or seven years for families to buy the foundation out, Foote said.<\/p>\n

According to the latest QV House Price Index last month, the average home in Tauranga costs $1,031,583<\/a>. <\/p>\n

Across the wider Bay of Plenty region, the average value was $890,517.<\/p>\n

Spending $56,000 in \u2018dead money\u2019<\/p>\n

The Gilberts spent about $56,000 in \u201cdead money\u201d renting a rural property in \u014chauiti for the past two years, Naomi Gilbert said.<\/p>\n

They had \u201cnothing\u201d to show for it or \u201cpass on to the next generation\u201d.<\/p>\n

Owning a home would allow them to leave behind something for their children, some of whom had already left home.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve got a dream and vision to use this as the stepping stone in order to get investment properties and build even more of an inheritance not just for our children, but we also have a vision for ministry because we believe in God … \u201d<\/p>\n

She said the couple wanted to support causes they were passionate about, including vulnerable mothers.<\/p>\n

Gilbert \u2013 a part-time Plunket nurse \u2013 ran a free group for new mothers called The Mamas Tribe at the Bethlehem Birthing Centre, funded by the Wright Family Foundation.<\/p>\n

Buying a \u2018do-up\u2019 home v shared ownership<\/p>\n

Gilbert said their other option had been buying a \u201cdo-up\u201d home in a \u201cvery competitive\u201d market.<\/p>\n

The couple looked at a few homes in their budget. None were suitabled and they also did not know anything about renovating.<\/p>\n

Buying a home through the shared ownership model meant they could just move in and \u201cenjoy it\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe had chickens … but we\u2019ve said goodbye to the chickens and hello to the new life.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"NaomiNaomi and Darcy Gilbert are parents to a blended family of nine children. The Gilberts are pictured with eight of their nine children.
\nFrom left to right in back row: Ezra, Faith, Maiah. From left to right in front row: Charis, Lucah, Judah, Michiah, Zion, Darcy and Naomi Gilbert.<\/p>\n

She said she and her husband used their KiwiSavers to buy their first home. <\/p>\n

The couple owned 69% of the property and the Housing Foundation owned 31%, Gilbert said.<\/p>\n

She encouraged renters to \u201cget creative\u201d because \u201cthere are ways into home ownership\u201d.<\/p>\n

They were paying less for their mortgage than their rent, \u201cand our rent was decent\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a really creative way to get your foot into the door.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gilbert said the locals were friendly and the \u014cmokoroa Beach playground was great for children.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve just absolutely felt very blessed to be here.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"TheThe Housing Foundation\u2019s \u014cmokoroa development.<\/p>\n

Foote said construction of the first 11 of 28 houses in stage one started last year.<\/p>\n

Eleven houses were completed in July this year. The remaining 17 were to be completed by December.<\/p>\n

The foundation anticipated finishing all 100 homes by the end of 2027, Foote said.<\/p>\n

He said it had sold 12 houses through the shared ownership programme, designed to help \u201cworking households trapped in the rental market purchase their first home\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cFamilies tell us the biggest change they see for their wh\u0101nau is the stability a home provides for them. Their children can stay at the same school, can get into a fixed routine and the home allows them to build strong community connection.\u201d<\/p>\n

Foote said it was \u201cnever too late to get help into a home\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith the right support, many lower-income Kiwis stuck in renting may find their path to home ownership closer than they think.\u201d<\/p>\n

Foote said the foundation was proud to sit alongside families to map out a practical plan, often starting with a smaller deposit and an affordable mortgage.<\/p>\n

Shared ownership: Do you qualify?<\/p>\n

To be eligible for the Housing Foundation\u2019s shared ownership programme, you must:<\/p>\n

Be a New Zealand citizen or permanent residentBe a first-home buyerThe main income earner is in fulltime employmentTotal gross household income per year is no more than $110,000Have manageable or no debtHave a deposit (you can use your savings and KiwiSaver for this)<\/p>\n

Registrations are available on the Housing Foundation website.<\/p>\n

Megan Wilson<\/a> is a health and general news reporter for the Bay of Plenty Times and the Rotorua Daily Post. She has been a journalist since 2021.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Housing Foundation\u2019s 100-home development offered first-home buyers on low or modest incomes a shot at getting on…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2108,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[3167,3172,2109,1888,3173,3174,305,3177,1345,3166,3171,3180,111,43,139,69,3169,3178,3176,3175,3048,3170,3168,1227,3179,165,210],"class_list":["post-2107","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-zealand","tag-buy","tag-darcy","tag-family","tag-first","tag-gilbert","tag-goodbye","tag-have","tag-hello","tag-home","tag-mokoroa","tag-naomi","tag-near","tag-new-zealand","tag-news","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-ownership","tag-owning","tag-renting","tag-rural","tag-said","tag-scheme","tag-shared","tag-tauranga","tag-thanks","tag-their","tag-through"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2107","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2107"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2107\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2108"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2107"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2107"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2107"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}