Couple devastated after fire razes new build

The new house is believed to have been deliberately set on fire on Thursday night.

An Auckland couple are devastated after an arsonist is alleged to have set fire to their new home just a month from its build completion.

It's the second time the home had been the target of alleged arsonists, after another fire was set there in October.

Police confirmed they were called to the blaze on Old Wairoa Rd in Papakura shortly before midnight on Thursday and were treating it as suspicious. Investigations were underway, they said.

The home was being built as part of a new three-stage subdivision. It's understood there have been multiple incidents of arson in the area prior to the fire.

Young married couple Emily and Blair Willers say they are frustrated and angry after the blaze gutted the house following months of building setbacks, including an attempted arson months before.

The build began in August but became held up in October due to the resource consent process.

Around this time a small fire was spotted in the building but was extinguished before it got out of control, Blair Willers said.

Emily and Blair Willers.

They were just weeks away from finishing the build, with the insulation having just gone in and painting and kitchen work ready to be done.

New furniture had been ordered and the couple have been living in a small apartment while they waited.

"It's very frustrating," Blair Willers said.

"We're just really gutted and disappointed and angry. It's such a waste. It's a brand new house and now it's going to be bulldozed.

"It just makes me angry that people think they have the right to vandalise and damage another person's property. Why? There's no point in doing it."

The GJ Gardner project manager had called him on Friday morning and broken the bad news, he said.

Dog walkers had spotted smoke coming out of the roof and a car driving away from the scene.

Most of the financial liability rested with the building company as the Willers didn't officially take over the home until they had the keys, he said.

Anyone with any information on the fire should call Counties Manukau police.

The new build would start straight away but it had still set them back, Willers said.

The couple visited the house for the first time since the fire, on Saturday.

"We wanted it to sink in - it didn't feel real."

Anyone with information about the fire should call Counties Manukau police on 09 261 1300.

Information can also be provided anonymously to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.