The Auckland suburb of Te Atatu Peninsula is a hot spot for developers.

Large, flat sections with well-built 1960s homes make the area ideal for subdivision, and property owners have seen values skyrocket as developers hunt for suitable sites.

Harry Best’s Te Atatu Peninsula project is his first development, and it’s proven why the area is so popular for those looking to subdivide and add value.

UK-born Best has worked in sales for developers, but he wanted to turn his hand to his own venture. He understood the market and how to sell, so in October 2022 bought a parcel of land he could transform.

He’s now halfway through a six-house development of two adjoining sites and one house, with two more on the market.

Two Extra Homes

Best’s property featured a 97m² weatherboard three-bedroom on a 766m² section, and the zoning is “mixed housing urban”, allowing for three homes on a site. He realised that by moving the existing home to the rear of the section and changing its orientation, two extra homes could be added.

The site was easily accessible and lent itself to the addition of relocatable homes. Best sourced two homes for this purpose, in very different conditions. The more expensive of the two ($135,000) was in quite good shape and just in need of minor renovations. The second, at just $45,000, was essentially a shell.

The subdivision was subject to consents, but Best was able to move the original home to the back of the section and place the relocatable homes on the site while consents were being granted. They sat there for months as drainage plans were drawn up and the resource consent was processed.

Halfway through the consenting process, in April 2023, the owner of a neighbouring property approached him with a proposal. He was seeking to downsize and asked Best if he would be interested in purchasing his place.

It was a carbon copy of the property Best was working on, with a house of the same era. It made financial sense, so he decided to take the plunge. “We altered our plans before starting any construction work.”

He realised he could repeat the same process as the first property; move the house to the back of the section, reposition it, and add extra dwellings up front. But for this project he decided that rather than adding two relocatable homes, he would add one relocatable and undertake a new build.

The Reno Work

When the consents were eventually granted Best acted as project manager for the properties and oversaw the renovations, which started in February this year.

“We started the middle house first [the more expensive of the two relocatable homes].

“It didn’t need any major structural work but required rewiring and replumbing. New carpet was installed, a new deck built, and new appliances added,” he says.

The front house (the second relocatable home) needed a complete rebuild; the original house (now positioned at the rear of the section) had roof work to make it watertight, new gutters, aluminium joinery, as well as double glazing. A new kitchen was installed, and the home was rewired and repainted.

All have off-street parking, attractive landscaping and decking, and he’s looking for buyers in the mid-$900,000 range. They also have their own gardens and car parks, which add to buyer appeal.

“This is definitely important to buyers,” says Best. “It’s how people want to live; they want usable outdoor spaces as well as car parking. These areas make it feel like a usable, functional home.”

The three houses went on the market recently and were staged for sale. One has been sold and the others are still on the market. Best will keep one of the homes himself, a testament to the quality of the work he’s overseen: “But we are not sure which one at this stage.”

And while he believes he will make a good profit from the development he knows others who have not been as lucky. “There are people who have developed properties recently and have lost money on them. It’s a hard time to sell, but I am happy with the results of this project.”

The final three homes should be ready to go to market by the end of the year, marking the culmination of Best’s ambitious development.

Best’s tips

Here are Best’s tips on Auckland’s consent process.

• “You must apply for land use consent through Auckland council. Along with this consent, you are required to make sure each new section has all utilities provided to their boundary.
• “It is a lengthy process and requires a lot of work prior to submitting for the consent. It can take a few months to get all the surveys and plans done. It can cost around $120,000 per lot as a rough guide. Depending on the site it can be slightly more or less.”