Affordable townhouse project all set to roll

Tauranga's affordable housing stock will be boosted by the start of a $30 million development on the coastal strip that signals renewed activity in the building industry.
Developer Duarne Lankshear will begin building 32 three-bedroom homes within three months in the first stage of The Orchard subdivision at Papamoa. They are expected to take six months to complete.
The development over 2.7 hectares on Te Okuroa Drive, off Parton Rd, is comprehensively designed for medium-density housing, and the single and two-level townhouses will sell for  $300,000-$360,000. Four  sold before marketing began.
"There's a bit of science behind it," said Mr Lankshear, who is managing the joint-venture project on behalf of his company, MGL Properties, and Christchurch-based Arcus Developments.
"In Tauranga, there's an urgent need for new property in that price range. Building consents have hit their lowest numbers in 30 years and the rental market is tight.
"That's a good indication that the housing stock is under pressure.
"First homebuyers want to get into the market but they don't want to carry as much debt as others have done in the past 10 years."
Mr Lankshear said $300,000-$360,000 fitted their price bracket  and  still offered them a good lifestyle option.
A recent survey showed Tauranga was the most unaffordable place to live in New Zealand, based on house prices and average household income.
 The survey looked at 272 markets in Australia, Canada, Ireland, Britain, the United States and New Zealand. Tauranga  ranked 20th, ahead of Auckland (22nd), Christchurch (31st), Wellington (41st) and Dunedin (47th).
The Orchard, at Papamoa, will finish up with 87 houses over two or three stages. The energy-efficient terraced houses, clad in brick and weatherboard, range in size from 115-140sq m, and will be grouped in 12 small neighbourhoods.
They will be built, by Tauranga-based Belvedere Construction, around nearly half a hectare of open space including a playground, swimming pool, poolhouse and orchard and native trees. The developers are planting 4500 native species and fruit trees such as mandarins, apples, oranges, lemons and plums.
Mr Lankshear, who is a consultant for economic-development agency Priority One and is planning a city-centre strategy, said the houses might be on smaller sections but that didn't decrease the quality of living.