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Tips on Building an Affordable Home at Rangitahi

Tuesday 3 September 2019, 1:07PM

By Beckie Wright

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Kirstie Hunter of Sentinel Homes was recently interviewed regarding building an affordable, yet sustainable home at Rangitahi, and she came up with some great tips, beginning with land prices. As Kirstie said, ultimately, land prices dictate what people can afford to build. In order to build, you need land and if you can find well-priced land, you have more to put into your build. Sometimes a specific location or sea view is important to clients and they are happy to compromise on their build in order to be in their dream location. Rangitahi has a variety of options to suit all budgets.

Another factor that influences the cost of building is site works and soil conditions. Before purchasing a site, it pays to ask for the subdivision Geo-Technical Report. This can identify any issues that may have a cost implication – the last thing you want is to purchase a section only to find it has poor quality soils that require more money in foundations/engineering.  

Having a good architectural designer to help with design is important too, and with coastal homes you can get a bit more creative with cladding options, whilst accommodating environmental conditions like winds, sun, sea spray. Kirstie says, “Maintenance is a consideration with the harsher environment on the coast and your appetite for maintenance may have an influence on the cladding you choose”.

At Rangitahi, Homes must be designed using the NZ Green building Council Homestar framework who advocate the use of sustainable products and designing homes so they are naturally efficient –  warmer, drier and cost less to run. It comes down to a quality design first, and then using materials and products that support this and brands that are sustainable.

The Rangitahi Peninsula is Raglan’s newest property offering, providing a new urban sustainable neighbourhood, so for more information on Waikato real estate, Rangitahi Peninsula development and Raglan property please go to https://rangitahi.co.nz .