Downsizing popular for villa subdivision

More homebuyers in Tauranga are showing strong interest in smaller houses on smaller sections at an affordable price.
Developer Bob Thorne signed up nine contracts - seven of them unconditional - last Sunday when he launched the second stage of his Urban Ridge subdivision in Bethlehem.
He was releasing a further 25 land and house packages in Jude Place, off Millers Rd, and among the sales was the Will Tatton-designed showhome which just had the finishing touches to the landscaping.
Mr Thorne said there had been a major shift in thinking. "People don't want big sections and a lot of lawn to mow. They want security and smaller lots.
"Half the people moving in are downsizing. They don't want four bedrooms and a mortgage. Sub $400,000 - that's where 63 per cent of the market is in Tauranga.
"What's interesting is the mixture of buyers. The youngest were a couple in their mid-20s and the oldest was 84 who said she wasn't old enough to move into a retirement village. She wanted to be around the young people," Mr Thorne said.
The Thorne Group is building architecturally-designed villas ranging in size from 120sq m to 170sq m, with two and three bedrooms on sections from 250-450 sq m. They are priced between $329,000 and $450,000.
Urban Ridge is an example of more intensive housing - a policy SmartGrowth and Tauranga City Council has been pushing. The council's plan to intensify parts of Arataki and Greerton fell through following objections from local residents.
"You can't sell a secret," Mr Thorne said. "If they had done a development and showed how people could live there, then it would have worked. We've had council planners down to see what we have been doing."
Mr Thorne has been developing the Millers Rd area near Carmichael Reserve after buying 22ha 15 years ago. He sold 180 sections in Solomon St and then built the Thornton Villas gated community before moving across the road to develop a further 25 villas in stage one of Urban Ridge.
He wants to make it a lively community, not just a street of speculative homes.
Mr Thorne built a childcare centre Urban Kids for operator Dave Best, and he is planning a small commercial centre on the corner of Jude Place and Millers Rd.
The centre will comprise eight suburban shops on the ground floor, and an apartment and seven offices upstairs.
Mr Thorne hopes to develop another 150 sections on his remaining land. "The next stage will be a model for Tauranga," he said.