Tamaki Regeneration Company's pilot scheme helps Kiwis buy home

Ariel Kulaitis and wife Beatriz with daughters Isabella, 5, and Stella,3, outside their new Glen Innes home as part of Tamaki Regeneration's shared ownership scheme. Photo / Supplied

The Kulaitis family loved everything about Auckland except one important detail - the cost of buying a home.

Originally from Brazil, high house prices would have eventually forced them to pack up and leave if they hadn't stumbled upon Tamaki Regeneration Company's pilot shared ownership housing programme.

Auckland's first such scheme to be fully funded by the Government, Tamaki plans to use $6 million to help 30 local families into their first homes.

It allows families like the Kulaitis to take out mortgages for about two-thirds of the value of a home, while Tamaki holds on to the other one-third share until the families can afford to buy them out.

That way families can buy with smaller deposits and less strenuous weekly home loan repayments.

For Ariel Kulaitis, setting foot into his family's three-bedroom Glen Innes newbuild this week marked a "very emotional" turning point.

"Until today pretty much, we had it in the back of our minds, 'should we move to a regional city or even to Australia because it might be more affordable'," he said.

"But when you buy the first house is when you feel a part of New Zealand - you have got your roots in the country and can finally settle in."

The ability of Tamaki's pilot programme to continue helping local families establish permanent roots in the area is set to be closely watched by the Government and property pundits.

The Government has promised to invest more money into shared ownership and rent-to-buy schemes in a bid to push home ownership levels up at a time when they are at their lowest in 60 years.

But, as with its efforts to build 100,000 affordable KiwiBuild homes in 10 years, delivery will be key.

Tevita Malolo runs Tamaki's affordable housing programme as part of the major redevelopment project that plans to build 7500 new-build homes in the East Auckland suburbs of Glen Innes, Point England and Panmure.

He said Tamaki currently had 21 homes lined up for the programme and about 150 families in the pipeline, who would be financially ready to take on a mortgage within the next three years.

The Kulaitis family were the seventh family so far to move into a home.

"What's really important for us is the ability to keep really good local whanau in the community," Malolo said.

The Kulaitis family were selected after building strong ties in the Glen Innes community.

A fitness expert, Ariel manages the Glen Innes YMCA and helps locals train for their personal trainer qualifications for free.

He said the family loved Auckland for its "beautiful" mix of lifestyle and work opportunities.

And they were incredibly grateful that when you "pay your taxes you see it coming back to you in the form of services".

Ariel was working for Kiwi gym franchise Les Mills in Curitiba in Brazil and newly married to wife Beatriz when he began eyeing his move to New Zealand in 2008.

"Curitiba is a great city, don't get me wrong, but the corruption and crime is on your door everyday," he said.

"Everyday you live in fear about, not if it is going to happen, but when it is going to happen to you."

That led him to ask Beatriz to go on an adventure to the other side of the world with him.

"She said to me, 'I'll give it a go, I'll give you one year'," he said.

"And here we are, about 12 years later."