THE BLACK BOOK | current to 19 October

Current to 12 October 2021

THE

BLACK BOOK.

$7M-PLUS BACH THAT’S BEATEN PAUL HENRY’S SALE RECORD

Resene

S I M P L E D I Y P RO J E C T S W I T H PA I N T

60

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PROPERTIES FOR SALE

Diana Clement

10 and 10 in 10

Ashley Church

After a long, slow start, the prefab revolution is starting to deliver

Spend 10 minutes with Holly Cassidy

How much does fear influence the housing market?

Covid-19 – Alert Levels Everything you need to know about Level 2, 3 and Property

We hope you and your loved ones are staying safe during this lockdown.

With the exception of physical viewings, we are still business as usual!

Congratulations on making it to Level 3, Auckland! Not long to go now for us all.

Our team are here to assist you with virtual viewings and appraisals – just ask one of our agents how they can help!

Useful Links: Buying and Selling at Alert Level 2 Buying and Selling at Alert Level 3 Stay up to date with the Covid-19 Website Where to check locations of interest Stay safe, everyone.

Kia Kaha, New Zealand

R AY W H I T E N OW

Introducing Ray White Now, an insight to provide clarity to all our customers on what is happening in the market now.

If you are considering selling we explain how you can take advantage of the current conditions to achieve the best possible sales outcome.

The resilience of the New Zealand housing market has never been more evident than over the past three months. Most New Zealanders would be surprised at the level of activity and prices achieved, even though it has operated under restrictive operating conditions.

As Australasia’s largest real estate group, we are uniquely placed to provide our clients with the most relevant and timely information and data to assess current market activity and outlook. And as a family-owned and led business with 118 years of experience including operating through two world wars, the great depression and recessions, we know that we can deliver you the highest quality solutions in the current market.

C L I C K H E R E TO R E A D T H E L AT E S T I S S U E N OW

contents.

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Black Group Realty Ltd. Contents

Selling Principal Heather Walton 021 432 167 heather.walton@raywhite.com

Inspire

Franchise Owner Mark Bycroft 021 968 946 mark.bycroft@raywhite.com

Daria Kuprienko

The $7m-plus bach that’s beaten Paul Henry’s sale record

Sales Manager Jeff Tubman 0274 558 717 jeff.tubman@raywhite.com

Diana Clement

After a long, slow start, the prefab revolution is starting to deliver

10 & 10 in 10 with Holly Cassidy

Ashley Church

How much does fear influence the housing market?

Resene

Black Group Property Management.

General Manager Mac Bycroft 021 223 6893 mac.bycroft@raywhite.com

Business Development Josh Smith 021 235 8802 josh.smith@raywhite.com

Simple DIY projects with paint

Property Ads

Ray White Epsom Ray White Matakana & Omaha Black Group Realty Ltd. Licensed (REAA 2008)

The Black Book is subject to copyright in its entirety and the contents may not be reproduced in any form, either in whole or in part, without written permission.

Opinions expressed in The Black Book are those of the contributors and not necessarily those of Black Group Realty Ltd or Ray White Epsom. No responsibility is accepted for unsolicited material.

On the cover: Kawakawa House Piha

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THE $7M-PLUS BACH THAT’S BEATEN PAUL HENRY’S SALE RECORD Daria Kuprienko

The Omaha beachfront property sold for a record $7.375m THE BLACK BOOK.

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The property had a 2017 CV of $4.25m 12 |

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A stunning luxury home on Omaha’s beachfront has sold for a record-breaking $7.375 million.

Sold in April, the five-bedroom house on Inanga Lane looks out to Little Barrier Island and was designed for the current owners by the award-winning Leuschke Group Architects in 2009.

It includes an in-ground heated pool/spa, an open plan kitchen and family room that flows down to the dunes, a triple-car garage and space to park the boat, all on a huge 1368sqm section of land.

The sale price is more than $3m above the property’s 2017 rating valuation. It is also Omaha’s highest, just beating the $7.35m paid for a neighbouring four-bedroom luxury bach that was owned by rich-lister Diane Foreman and her broadcaster husband Paul Henry.

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The property was listed with Ray White agents Heather Walton and Sue Hatton. Both agents declined to comment on the sale, but in their marketing they said the property was a rarity.

“Securing this property is an investment for the future. The limited number of waterfront homes in [Omaha’s] southern end keeps these properties highly sought after and valuable.”

The agent who sold Foreman and Henry’s bach last year said there was huge demand for Omaha real estate.

“The Omaha market is going from strength to strength. I don’t think you can get anything waterfront anymore for less than $5.5m.

Prices here remain high and will keep moving north,” they said.

It was reported that some families owned up to five waterfront homes in the area and that many Omaha residents would spend only a few weeks a year at their baches.

“I believe beachfront [properties] will escalate in value significantly again in two to three years because there’s a limited supply of waterfront and beach reserve [land].”

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It was also said there was a lot of property shuffling going on in Omaha by locals, with homeowners not directly on the waterfront seizing any opportunities to trade up and get closer to the beach.

The recent buyers of a four-bedroom waterfront house on Lagoon Way (not pictured) did exactly that.

They had bought a designer property located one house back from the beach on Taumata Road last year for $3.85m, but when the Lagoon Way bach came up for sale, and offered unobstructed views of the water, they snapped it up, for $5.6m.

This month they sold their Taumata Road bach for just over $4.5m (not pictured). “[The Lagoon Way property] is older but good quality and the buyers were preparing to pay extra to shuffle from [Omaha’s] southern end to the northern end.”

Featured property listed by Heather Walton Head of Ray White Black Group 021 432 167 heather.walton@raywhite.com

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AFTER A LONG, SLOW START, THE PREFAB REVOLUTION IS STARTING TO DELIVER Diana Clement

Prefab homes look set to take off in New Zealand.

The idea that homes can be built in the factory has long been dreamed of as a solution to New Zealand’s housing crisis.

Red tape and a building industry that did things the old way has hampered the fast-tracking of prefab homes.

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In the past 10 years the percentage of consents for prefab housing has grown from 3% in 2011 to more than 9% now, says PrefabNZ chief executive Scott Fisher.

Factory-built homes are usually produced faster, better, and more accurately than traditional tradie-built homes. They can be built undercover in the factory and construction can continue in all weathers.

Modern prefabrication involves either factory-built panels, which are erected on site, or modular homes craned into place on site and clipped together.

The build takes place in the factory at the same time as site works, reducing overall construction time. Previously site works would need to be complete before the build could begin, says Fisher.

Prefab homes have been used overseas to build at scale, says James Wilson, director of valuations at OneRoof’s data partner Valocity. It’s a particularly good way of building the more intensive housing that New Zealand needs, he

says. “They’re definitely a part of the solution to our housing crisis.”

Wilson says the market struggled to take off for two reasons. “The first is this connotation that it means ‘knock ’em up cheap’. The second is that it has been quite difficult to get mortgage finance [for them].”

Pioneers have struggled. In 2018, when OneRoof last spoke with Tony Whale, general manager of Concision, his factory had capacity sitting idle. The business has taken off over the past three years, says Whale, in part thanks to larger orders from government building programmes.

“We have a number of projects with Kāinga Ora on the drawing board from single-storey houses to four to five-storey apartment buildings and transitional housing [as well].” The orders are sometimes for complete panels or room components, such as bathroom pods.

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The country’s largest home builder is slowly ramping up its production. Fletcher Building ran a trial in 2018 and went on to open its Clever Core prefab factory in Auckland’s Wiri in 2019. The purpose-designed, offsite home manufacturing facility builds homes in six to 10 weeks compared to 22 weeks for a standard build.

The factory is designed to manufacture up to 500 homes per year. In the 2021 financial year it produced 97 new homes, and 50 the previous year. Fletcher Building’s annual report predicted that 200 (one in five) Fletcher Living homes would be built in the factory in the current 2022 financial year.

One of the big roadblocks to prefab housing in New Zealand was the council consenting process, which was designed for onsite inspections, says Fisher.

The newly passed Building (Building Products and Methods, Modular Components, and Other Matters) Amendment Act 2021 has dealt with many of those problems, he says.

Regulations due to come into effect next year will complete the circle. “That’s around improved consenting and factory certification.” The regulations will allow the prefab aspects of a new home to be consented in the factory and site signoff can take place separately.

Whale says councils have slowly become more familiar with offsite manufacturing, than they were. “We’ve [worked with] councils such as Auckland City Council in Christchurch in creating a Memorandum of Understanding so they take our quality assurance framework and utilise that in lieu of [onsite] inspection regimes,” More and more prefab homes companies are launching in New Zealand. One new one is Hector Egger, a Swiss company that has launched an Otago based operation to build high-tech timber panels for residential and commercial building construction.

Others include Red Stag Investments in Hamilton, Auckland based Smart Solution Homes, and XLam, an Australian cross laminated timber company that imports panels to its Mercer factory where it adds insulation, cladding systems, roofing and other features.

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A few companies import prefabricated homes from Asia. An example is Modul homes, which sells Chinese-built two story full size modular homes that are shipped in, trucked to a site, and craned into place where they clip together. Japan’s Panasonic Homes, which has built prefab homes in Te Kauwhata.

Many of these companies have landed contracts with Kāinga Ora in the past two years. Some find the government organisation moves very slowly, but they are grateful for the way it is supporting the industry. “We’re getting really good traction through Kāinga Ora, and they are embracing off site manufacturing,” says Whale.

“So, kudos to them.”

Kāinga Ora has found numerous efficiency benefits of offsite manufacturing (OSM), says ’s general manager construction and innovation Patrick Dougherty.

“OSM homes can be built and installed on sites faster, there are fewer variables to allow a more streamlined build process, materials are not exposed to the elements during construction, and less construction waste is produced,” says Dougherty.

“Importantly, these homes meet quality and sustainability thresholds expected of a traditional build in New Zealand, including Healthy Homes standards and the New Zealand Green Building Council’s 6 Homestar ratings.

“OSM homes also allow the agility to respond to changes in housing need, as they can be relocated to areas as demand changes. “ Dougherty says around 15% of Kāinga Ora homes under construction or in design use OSM techniques.

He says one standout pilot is the 18home Busby Street development in Blockhouse Bay, Auckland, built by Miles Construction.

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“The three-storey walk-up apartment buildings combine a mix of OSM technology, including Cross Laminated Timber panels from XLam. Engineered light timber frame panels and factory-built bathroom pods from Concision are also used. Busby Street has also become our second development to achieve a 7 Homestar rating.”

Concision has built 200 homes for Kāinga Ora over the past 18 months and expects to double that number over the same period going forward.

“So, 200 front doors hoping to double that.”

The homes vary from standalone units to multistory projects.

Despite the growth in the industry around 90% of framing in new homes is built onsite using traditional methods. If that was the other way around the building of new homes could be fast tracked, says Fisher. “It is something that really needs to be embraced by the construction industry.”

One of the other roadblocks to prefab housing has been in mortgage finance. It’s risky for banks because they advance money before the actual

home is delivered to site, says Wilson. Both Westpac and BNZ have products in the market, says Wilson and he expects to see more.

Westpac launched a product in 2019 to overcome this problem and has lent to 200 customers since then, says Gina Dellabarca, general manager for consumer banking and wealth at “By offering a dedicated lending product for prefab homes, we’re making it easier and safer for Kiwis to use innovative building methods, potentially saving them money and time.”

Dougherty says looking at global markets such as Sweden and the UK, there is the potential to grow the market for OSM homes in New Zealand but scaling it up will take time.

“It will require a collaborative, ‘whole of government’ approach in partnership with industry to ensure consistent pipeline for OSM factories, underpinned by a common language of technical specifications that enable an integrated supply chain model, supported by new skills capabilities, and an education programme to assist market acceptance.” n

For this, and more

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Diana Clement is a freelance journalistwho writes on personal finance and property investing.

E-mail her at diana@wordfusion.com

OneRoof.co.nz content, click here

ten and ten, in ten with

Holly Cassidy

Getting an agent to sit still can be difficult, so we bribe them with coffee to spend ten minutes with us. This week we pulled Holly Cassidy from Black Group Realty aside to ask her ten personal, and ten professional questions.

Personal What's your coffee order?

Flat white in the week and Mocha in the weekend.

What song is on repeat on your playlist at the moment?

Cold heart - PNAU Remix - Dua lip and Elton John I just got tickets to Dua Lipa's concert next year.

Which App do you spend the most time on?

Messenger currently - I have a lot of interaction with friends and clients on here Where do you think New Zealand's best-kept secret is?

The lost springs in Whitianga - a go-to on my summer vacay.

How do you start each morning?

Walk, Coffee, Emails and 1 friend call to motivate me for the day and put a smile on my face

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If you could have coffee with anyone in the world, who would it be?

My Nan always - life is short.

If you were to win a reality TV show, which one would you have the best shot at winning?

Dynasty.

It's date night - where are you making a reservation for dinner?

Soul bar - never fails to disappoint!

What's your go-to ice cream flavour?

Big kid - Goodie goodie gum drops kiwi classic What was the last book you read?

Be obsessed or be average / Grant Cardone

Professional What was your first job?

Checkout girl at Mitre 10 Mega.

What do you wish you’d known before you started out in your career?

What did you want to be when you grew up?

Have someone who supports you and a cash reserve to invest in your business.

A singer/performer.

Tell us the thing you love the most about working in real estate?

The people you meet.

Give us some advice to pass on to someone thinking about joining the industry?

Start as an associate with a superstar agent and be a sponge.

What would you consider to be your greatest achievement?

Winning Miss Universe NZ in 2013.

What motivates you?

My daughter, Heather & Richard Thode.

What do you hope you’ve achieved in five year’s time?

Elite achieved and management papers done!

What separates you from other agents?

My strong administration background and lightning-fast responses.

Million dollar question - how’s the market at the moment?

BOOMING! So strong as we saw out of the last lockdown last year. n

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FEAR HOW MUCH DOES

IN FLUENCE THE HOUSI NG MARKE T? Ashley Church

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“FOMO has been a key driver of house price growth in the last 12 months.”

COMMENT: Fear, in the right proportions, can be a catalyst for beneficial behaviour. It can protect us from danger, deter us from unwise actions, and make us think about consequences.

But fear can also harm us. It can prevent us from doing things which will advance us and, if used by others against us, it can stop us from taking any action at all and, in extreme cases, can cause us to put life on hold.

The latter was spelt out, recently, in an excellent article written by former Prime Minister John Key in which he outlined five ways to transform our approach to Covid 19 in order to get our country moving again. Referring to NZ in 2021 as a “hermit kingdom”, his article rejected the fear-based approach of the current Government and proposed measures that would encourage vaccination and manage our response relative to the scope of the actual (rather than imagined) threat.

Fear is also an ever-present feature of the property market and, as with Covid, it drives behaviour in ways which can do huge damage when it gets out of control.

There are at least three ways in which fear influences the property market, some more consequential than others.

FEAR OF THE CONSEQUENCES OF GOVERNMENT Despite their effectiveness in using fear to control our response to Covid, the same approach hasn’t worked for the Government in its attempts to control the housing market, which is why I’ve listed it first. Decades of history teach us that government and Reserve Bank policies may unsettle people enough to move the needle for a few short weeks or months – but that, ultimately, they will make no appreciable difference to the trajectory of the market in the medium and longterm. We’re witnessing this, right now, in the wake of a suite of changes which were claimed would slow house price growth to near-zero – at a time when house

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FEAR OF MISSING OUT The fear of missing out on a property is a far more pervasive influencer of the property market than government policy. That’s not my opinion – it’s the verdict of the market, itself, which over the past 50-plus years has seen repeated cyclic booms leading to ever-increasing house prices. The fear of missing out, coupled with the expectation of capital gain, are the two fundamental drivers of the New Zealand housing market.

FEAR OF A MARKET CRASH Of the three fears listed, this is the most destructive. I could fill volumes with the stories of people who held off buying property because they heard or read that the market was “about to crash”. Despite the occasional claim that I have some sort of vested interest in “talking up the market”, the exact opposite is true. I have taken my own advice over the decades and have put myself in a position where I will be very comfortable for the rest of my life – and it saddensme to see so many young people missing out on being in the same position simply because they have heeded the advice of those who peddle fear.

Like Covid, the property market comes with risks that we should be aware of and should mitigate against. But there’s a big difference between acting with caution and being too scared to live.

Don’t let the fearmongers steal your future. n

For this, and more

OneRoof.co.nz content, click here

- Ashley Church is a property commentator for OneRoof.co.nz. Email him at ashley@nzemail.com

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Modern Mortgage Brokering. Old School Service.

Are you considering putting an offer on a property or looking at your next potential purchase? If so, has your bank or lender approved what level of debt you are looking at taking on?

Pre-approvals provide you an idea of your buying power and an approximate price range so you can purchase with confidence.

We strongly recommended reaching out regarding any of the below: Dylan Thomas Director & Financial Adviser

Pre-approvals Refinancing Buying your first home Purchasing another property Providing a second opinion on your current rates

WWW.SIXTUS.CO.NZ 021 051 6496 DYLAN@SIXTUS.CO.NZ GEORGIANA@SIXTUS.CO.NZ

SIMPLE DIY PROJECTS

with paint

Colour brings soul to a home. It’s a way in which we can bring a little of ourselves into our interiors, showing off our individuality and character. Consider what colours really make 34 | THE BLACK BOOK.you shine, because they’ll have the same effect on your home.

Image provided by trendzoutdoors.co.nz

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Colour will add a layer of elegance or cosiness to your interior or exterior, bringing your home to life. This is a chance to think about what hues have a positive emotional effect on you. So forget about what trends are taking centre stage, and keep in mind what colours move you – be they bold, refined, pretty or edgy.

With simple DIY jobs that can be done in a day or a weekend, you bring colour to all sorts of places in your home. Small-scale projects done in imaginative ways can bring creativity to your dwelling with decorative and practical effects. It’s the ideal way to apply your unique style.

You may have a long list of projects you’ve been meaning to tackle. Small things that you can gradually tick off over a weekend.

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Are your bookshelves becoming dumping grounds of unused books and odd pieces of paper? It’s time to clear away the clutter and wipe your shelves down. Then, while its empty, apply a bold colour or soft hue, one that works well in your interior. Choose a gorgeous palette for your backdrop, try a different colour for the backdrop or each shelf level. One option is a palette of blush hues in varying depths.

The bathroom can feel like a tricky space to add colour to. If you have a freestanding bath, make it a centrepiece of your bathroom by painting it in a dramatic shade. Rich colours on the walls around it will complement it, while neutral walls will enable the colour to pop.

Hallways and stairwells are ideal places for adding personality, yet are often overlooked. Wooden staircases are the perfect place to apply a bit of personality. Choose a colour for the entire staircase or even a range of different hues for a bit of fun.

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In your kitchen, affordable updates, such as painting your cabinets, help maintain your interior long-term. Keep it straightforward – go monochrome by keeping the colour scheme the same as the walls and woodwork. Or try going tonal by choosing three colours that work together.

Paint the inside of cabinetry for pops of colour in small measures. Try a turquoise, blush pink or seafoam green. Ensure it brings plenty of contrast with your outdoor cupboard colour for the best impact.

If you have a work space or study nook, paint it in an invigorating hue that will aid stimulation and work. Change things around for a freshen up and add a colourful, painted peg board as a place to house reminders and inspirational pictures.

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Perhaps you want to bring in colour to your bedroom but aren’t committed to painting the whole room or even a whole wall? Any easy, quick solution is adding rectangular blocks of colour across a corner of a room. Use masking tape to zone where you want to paint, and apply your colour, keeping the rest of your walls neutral. If you’d prefer to keep things symmetrical, block a headboard area instead.

You may always have had a desire for a stand-out skirting board or for coating your fireplace in a favourite hue. These are easy tasks to undertake within a day or a weekend, with maximum results.

If a nautical theme in your home really makes your heart sing, then find an unused, second-hand wooden oar and transform it into a decorative object.

Simply sand it back and coat it in a colour that blends with your surrounding palette.

For an authentic weathered look, apply a coat of white and sand it back, letting the timber peek through. You can continue this beach theme by repurposing a piece of driftwood and coating in in paint for use as a gate handle – perfect for the bach.

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Glam up your front porch, after all, this is usually the entrance spot where guests like to stay and chat in, so why not make it beautiful? Paint your veranda balustrade in a fresh coat – maybe it’s time to try something new like a gentle turquoise of Resene Juniper or the Mediterranean spearmint of Resene Riptide? A new coat on the veranda floor will work wonders too, covering up those areas or blistered or chipped paint that have worn away. Ensure you have plenty of seating, plants and comfortable cushions out here too, making the most of the covered space.

If the sunset can be seen from here, it’s a perfect spot to make it an extension of your indoor living area! Add a large, strung-up hammock if you can, as a place in which to lie back and enjoy the sun.

Many of us have a tool or garden shed on our property which often gets overlooked and is lucky if it gets a tidy once a year.

Once you have given it a clean, why not buy a new pegboard, paint it in an eyecatching hue and rearrange your tools or gardening kit? It’ll make the shed feel like it’s a more pleasant place to be, not somewhere you avoid due to the mess.

And with everything in its place, chores will feel a lot easy to accomplish when you can find the right tools to do the job.

Make a decorative feature out of your door frames throughout your home by coating them in a new shade of paint. You can even add a surrounding border in a complimentary hue to make more of a statement. With walls in Resene Regent Grey, try an extended architrave in Resene Sea Nymph, around door frames in Resene Quarter Rice Cake.

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Modernise vintage candlesticks with a coat of paint. Bring them up to date with fresh hues in varying tones from the same colour family. If you have a freestanding wooden coat rack that needs a little love, freshen it up with a new hue. Choose one that blends in beautifully with your front door and entranceway. These are all ways of using paint to help create a welcoming and inviting setting for you and your loved ones to return home to each day. n

For advice on your projects, visit your Resene ColorShop, resene.co.nz/ colorshops or for more project ideas check out hundreds of free project ideas online, resene.co.nz/projects.

For this, and more Resene Colorshop content, click here

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! ng ri p S is th p U g in p op P Properties

39 Waddell Avenue, Point England

Hamish McKay

A familiar face!

Get in touch!

021 641 165 n hamish.mckay@raywhite.com

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