Classic Builders Lakes District owner Paul Taylor says at Lynmore Rise more than 100 people are employed directly or indirectly. Photo / Andrew Warner
Hundreds of millions of dollars are being pumped into the Bay of Plenty economy as retirement village developments boom.
Nine new villages are at the design, consent or construction phase but a national labour shortage is impacting the sector.
Figures from the Retirement Association of NZ show of 41 villages that are members in the Bay of Plenty, 15 are building or planning to build 610 units for 793 older people.
A further nine new villages would add another 1330 new units when complete.
Retirement Villages Association of New Zealand chief executive John Collyns said nationally, 100 people moved into villages or aged care every week and about 5500 homes were released back into the market annually.
''There is no doubt the sector is doing well.''
However, he acknowledged there was a huge skills shortage and on the building front, some of its larger members had taken on their own building apprentices.
In the aged care space, there was an ongoing acute shortage - particularly for registered nurses.
More than 100 people are employed directly or indirectly at the Lynmore Rise Retirement Village in Rotorua, which had already built and sold 23 villas, with another 41 in the pipeline.
The joint $30 million venture between Owhatiura South Five Incorporated and Classic Builders is on Te Ngae Rd.
Classic Builders Lakes District owner Paul Taylor said it was great to have so many local tradies and contractors helping with the development.
''There is consistent work and it has been good to utilise the skills of those who live in our region.''
Lynmore Rise was also attracting big interest from buyers.
Classic Life general manager Stuart Cheeseman said villas were being completed on a regular basis, with ''the majority being sold and also occupied immediately after completion''.
''From the original launch, we have experienced consistent demand for the villas.'
''People are taking advantage of the robust property market by selling their homes, realising good equity release and moving into our villages with spare capital for their retirement.'
''The well-appointed homes, in a secure environment with companionship, have clearly hit a chord in the retirement sector and proven popular.'
''We see further potential for this lifestyle choice.''
Heritage Lifecare customer relations general manager Mark Sliper said recruiting and retaining staff was one of the greatest challenges for rest homes across the country.
''With our borders effectively closed to migrant nurses and an increasing pay gap between what nurses can earn in aged cared compared to public hospitals, it will become even more challenging.''
Cantabria Retirement Village in Rotorua fell under the Heritage Lifecare umbrella and it had a rest home, hospital, daycare programmes, along with respite and secure dementia care.
Rotorua Chamber of Commerce chief executive Bryce Heard said in excess of 6000 new houses needed to be built in the city over the next decade.
He said only 280 were built over the past 12 months to June 30 - ''so any house we build is a good house''. When the supply of houses meets the demand, property prices will flatten off.
"With the ageing population, we will certainly need homes for retirees, so the new developments are fulfilling the demand for a small part of the massive building programme required.''
Heard said it was also positive news on the employment and economy front as people were needed to both build the villages and to staff them.
Meanwhile, Generus Living Group director Graham Wilkinson said when Pacific Lakes and Pacific Coast at Mount Maunganui were complete, the two villages would have injected more than $400m into the region's economy.
The villages between would provide 470 homes, 36 apartments, 60 aged care suites and 40 memory assisted suites - for about 700 people.
Together with care facilities about 150 staff would be employed, he said.
At Pacific Lakes 70 homes had been built with another 50 under construction and most of them had sold.
''Interest in the village is unprecedented. The challenge is ensuring we can meet the expectations of our residents in a timely manner.
''After setting the standard with Pacific Coast we are fully aware of the expectation to deliver a similar or higher level at Pacific Lakes and all Generus staff are under pressure to minimise the timeframes involved.''
Pacific Lakes Village also had a uniquely sustainable approach to design and village lifestyle, he said.
One of its main features was The Lake House, due for completion in late 2021.
''It's an architectural exemplar overhanging the waterway, and designed to operate off the grid with its own solar and rainwater recycling systems.''
Metlifecare sales and marketing general manager David Martin said it had five retirement villages in the Bay of Plenty and while the company was not engaged in any developments at the moment, they had jobs up for grabs.
''We are looking for people to join us in a wide range of roles, in particular, registered nurses, caregivers, chefs and hospitality workers. Due to the shortage of registered nurses and caregivers nationwide, along with chefs and hospitality workers, it has been more challenging to find new team members in these roles.''
Metlifecare also had a reward scheme to encourage employees to let their friends know when there were roles available.
