Auckland Case Studies: Orewa & Waiheke Island - Presentation to Good Homes Repairs and Maintenance Summit
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www.goodhomes.co.nz
Auckland Case Studies:
Orewa & Waiheke Island
Presentation to Good Homes
Repairs and Maintenance Summit
24 April 2012
Robin Kearns
(with Tara Coleman & Amanda Gaddes)www.goodhomes.co.nz
1. Waiheke & Orewa
19 km by ferry 40 km from central AKL
2006 pop’n : 7689
65+ yrs – 13% 2006 pop’n: 7326
(compared with 9.9% (23% increase over 5
for AKL region)
years)
No reticulated sewage &
water supply
1 supermarket Rising housing demand
No fast-food
restaurants or traffic Well serviced centre
lightswww.goodhomes.co.nz
www.goodhomes.co.nz
Orewa & Waiheke Island
• Coastal locations: increasingly sought-after &
costly housing environments in NZ.
• Orewa & Waiheke: difference in access & socio-
economic status.
• Waiheke: ‘islandness’ & distance from rest of City
helps sense of community… but creates barriers
• Orewa, apparent affluence masks asset-rich/
capital-low seniorswww.goodhomes.co.nz
2. Orewa Case study
• 10 x in-depth • Key themes
interviews with ¾ Safety
residents 2010 ¾ House cosmetics
Salt damage &
weather proofingOrewa: www.goodhomes.co.nz
Small Jobs of Concern
• Garden space (paths, steps)
• Reaching high spots (cleaning
mirrors, changing light bulbs)
• Reaching cupboards
• Removing mould
• Window cleaning
• Small plumbing and electrical jobswww.goodhomes.co.nz
Orewa narratives
“We all have jobs to do before the summer;
I will be doing some of the deck with [my
son]. We need to get all the slime off &
repair rot. I want to get more railings now
that we have younger children in the
family. I’d quite like to get the walls
repainted” - Elizabethwww.goodhomes.co.nz
Maintaining pride of place
“Well there is a certain look to the homes
here in Orewa & we like it that way. It looks
nice & neat & it’s what we like” – Verna
“That old lady down the road there, her
house was falling apart, the paint
was all peeling the weeds were running
rampant…Terrible, but we can’t have that
round here you know” - Wesleywww.goodhomes.co.nz
3. Waiheke Case Study
Property boom Island houses: older,
propelled by: fast ferries simple wooden baches
(1987), amalgamation & huge architect‐
with Auckland (1989), designed wonders (or
& place‐marketing monstrosities)
Rates increase Æ A demographic &
deferred maintenance housing divide
Roof water dependencewww.goodhomes.co.nz
Waiheke Interviews
• 25 interviews aged 60+ living
independently
• 23 retired, the rest had some employment
• Most lived alone or with a spouse
• 21 people commented on
maintenance/house condition issueswww.goodhomes.co.nz ‘Sam’ - Improvisation “You see these windows... round the house, I’ve got this duct tape put right around each window, well, that’s because they don’t close properly, so I think this duct tape stops a bit of the draught”
www.goodhomes.co.nz Anne - Tradespeople We all have our list of tamed trades- people, the plumbers, the electricians, the builders and we send the word around, you know, go to him but don’t go to him, that sort of thing. Word of mouth on the island is very strong, a tradesman really can’t afford to do a bad job. So often people don’t do what you want, they do what they think you want...
www.goodhomes.co.nz ‘May’ – Weather proofing Well, the front door’s leaking, the veranda leaks too. There’s a leak around the ranch slider that keeps reappearing despite having it repaired, not sure why it keeps coming back. But the house was originally built by a home handy-man so some things are not quite right, not quite square or a bit shabby in places.
www.goodhomes.co.nz
Challenges to continued
independent living
* Size & steepness of properties
* House maintenance (repairs, painting)
* Maintenance of gutters, water
supply, tank inspections
* Rates billswww.goodhomes.co.nz
10 Provider interviews
a) Demographic divide
b) Incompatible person/house ‘fit’
c) Rates burden
d) ‘Place loyalty’
e) Local assistance strategieswww.goodhomes.co.nz
a) Demographic divide
“Long‐time Waihetians are struggling; older
people coming to Waiheke are coming
with money…. Waiheke is the best
example of a housing market that has
totally gone against the older person”www.goodhomes.co.nz
b) Person-house fit
“The big challenges that lead people to us
[Retirement Village] are roof problems,
and the property being too big and on too
much of a slope”www.goodhomes.co.nz
c) Rates burden
“They end up spending on keeping up with
rates when we should be supporting them
to spend on keeping healthy & warm”www.goodhomes.co.nz
d) Place loyalty
“They would rather live in a rotten house
than die off the island”
“People can be very proud and very
scared at the same time”
“They often give up if they leave the
island”www.goodhomes.co.nz e) Local assistance strategies “I annually move 7 older people out of their homes & into their garages for winter… [it’s] easier to heat. They’d be dead otherwise” “Corrections boys mow lawns, cut firewood & clean paths for the kaumatua & kuia. It teaches them skills & keeps the mana of the older ones… they feel they are helping by being helped”
www.goodhomes.co.nz e) Local assistance strategies “We can’t help unless there’s access… we’ve had our manager visit and cut down branches & have volunteers water‐blast driveways” “We need a designated older person’s social worker” “Someone who for a flat fee will assess, no obligation, what needs to be done in terms of maintenance”
Conclusion
www.goodhomes.co.nz
• Benefits of coastal
aging communities:
place-attachment, • The Good Homes
mutual support, tool offers a
physical activity dispassionate
assessment of
• Disadvantages rise person-dwelling fit.
with age & location
‘trendiness’ - eg
house condition,
rates, loss of
supportsYou can also read
