Ōmokoroa parents Naomi and Darcy Gilbert and their 17-month-old daughter Zahar Darcy Ataahua Gilbert were the first family to move into the Housing Foundation’s Ōmokoroa development.
Naomi and Darcy Gilbert have said “goodbye” to rural renting and “hello” to owning their first home, thanks to a shared ownership scheme near Tauranga.
The Gilberts – parents to a blended whānau of nine children – were the first family to move into the Housing Foundation’s Ōmokoroa development.
Naomi Gilbert said she, her husband and two of their children moved into their new, four-bedroom home in July.
Four of their children stayed every third weekend, making it a “full house”.
“We’ve absolutely loved it,” Gilbert told the Bay of Plenty Times.
The Housing Foundation’s 100-home development offered first-home buyers on low or modest incomes a shot at getting on the property ladder through a shared ownership scheme.
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.
Housing Foundation chief executive Dominic Foote said the homes ranged in price from $735,000 to $850,000, depending on the size and location.
Families usually started by purchasing about 60% of the home – usually worth $450,000 to $500,000 – using their KiwiSaver and a traditional bank mortgage. The foundation owned the remainder.
While they paid down the mortgage, families could also gradually buy back the foundation’s share. They pay a modest annual management fee but no rent or interest on that portion.
It typically took six or seven years for families to buy the foundation out, Foote said.
According to the latest QV House Price Index last month, the average home in Tauranga costs $1,031,583.
Across the wider Bay of Plenty region, the average value was $890,517.
The Gilberts spent about $56,000 in “dead money” renting a rural property in Ōhauiti for the past two years, Naomi Gilbert said.
They had “nothing” to show for it or “pass on to the next generation”.
Owning a home would allow them to leave behind something for their children, some of whom had already left home.
“We’ve 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 ... ”
She said the couple wanted to support causes they were passionate about, including vulnerable mothers.
Gilbert – a part-time Plunket nurse – ran a free group for new mothers called The Mamas Tribe at the Bethlehem Birthing Centre, funded by the Wright Family Foundation.
Gilbert said their other option had been buying a “do-up” home in a “very competitive” market.
The couple looked at a few homes in their budget. None were suitabled and they also did not know anything about renovating.
Buying a home through the shared ownership model meant they could just move in and “enjoy it”.
“We had chickens ... but we’ve said goodbye to the chickens and hello to the new life.”
She said she and her husband used their KiwiSavers to buy their first home.
The couple owned 69% of the property and the Housing Foundation owned 31%, Gilbert said.
She encouraged renters to “get creative” because “there are ways into home ownership”.
They were paying less for their mortgage than their rent, “and our rent was decent”.
“This is a really creative way to get your foot into the door.”
Gilbert said the locals were friendly and the Ōmokoroa Beach playground was great for children.
“We’ve just absolutely felt very blessed to be here.”
Foote said construction of the first 11 of 28 houses in stage one started last year.
Eleven houses were completed in July this year. The remaining 17 were to be completed by December.
The foundation anticipated finishing all 100 homes by the end of 2027, Foote said.
He said it had sold 12 houses through the shared ownership programme, designed to help “working households trapped in the rental market purchase their first home”.
“Families tell us the biggest change they see for their whānau 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.”
Foote said it was “never too late to get help into a home”.
“With the right support, many lower-income Kiwis stuck in renting may find their path to home ownership closer than they think.”
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.
To be eligible for the Housing Foundation’s shared ownership programme, you must:
Registrations are available on the Housing Foundation website.
Megan Wilson 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.