Clive MacKenzie: Kiwi Property CEO on the opening of the new Build to Rent complex in Mount Wellington

New Zealand’s largest Build to Rent complex opened this morning. 

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Housing Minister Chris Bishop cut the ribbon of Resido, a new development in Auckland’s Mount Wellington. 

Bishop said that there is no silver bullet to solving New Zealand’s housing crisis, and so they need to take every option available to them, Build to Rent being one such option. 

The new units are located next to Sylvia Park, with rents starting at $845 a week for a two bed, two bath. 

Kiwi Property CEO Clive MacKenzie told Kerre Woodham that they want people to settle down roots and call the units home, offering long-term leases and the ability to customise their space and bring their pets. 

He said that the prices are slightly higher, but the services, amenities, and security included in for tenants matches up. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:06):
You're listening to the Kerrywood and Morning's podcast from newstalksed b.

Speaker 2 (00:11):
Risido, New Zealand's largest build to rent apartment project, officially
opened this morning. Chris Bishop and the Prime Minister Christopher
Luxen cut the ribbon on the two hundred and ninety
five units. They are located next to Auckland's huge Auckland's
Huge mal Sylvia Park and offers tenants the flexibility of

(00:32):
renting coupled with the stability of home ownership, with a
wide range of quality services and amenities available within the
apartment complex. Rent start at six hundred and ninety seven
a week through to nine hundred and twenty one dollars
for a two betty two bathroom. Keewee property CEO Who's Bizarre?
Who is behind Risdo Clive McKenzie. I spoke to him

(00:57):
earlier this morning.

Speaker 3 (00:59):
Good morning, Kerry.

Speaker 2 (01:00):
Is there a demand for it? How do you know
that there is a demand for people to be long
term renters given that the Quarterer Acre Pavlova Paradise is
part of the Key we Psye Key.

Speaker 3 (01:12):
Well, it's interesting to say that because over half of
Aucklanders that are over the age of eighteen currently live
in rental accommodation. So if you think about it, half
of Aucklanders are renting at the moment, and that's expected
to increase to twenty to sixty percent in the next
twenty years. So certainly a lot of people are on
the rental market, and you know, what we're looking to
do is really offer long term leases, high quality living

(01:36):
and great amenities and just a great place that people
can put down their roots and call home.

Speaker 2 (01:41):
They may well be renting, but is that by choice.

Speaker 3 (01:45):
Look, you know that's a personal decision for people. Some
people will be renting because of necessity. They may be
saving for a deposit for their first home, or they
may be empty nesters where they're looking to downstairs and
free out their capital and travel. So that everybody, I
think has got looking for flexibility and different ways of
solving their their accommodation routes.

Speaker 2 (02:08):
How does build to rent projects, How does a build
to rent apartment building differ from just answering a trade
me ed?

Speaker 3 (02:17):
Yeah, so built for rents where one hundred percent of
the apartments are for rents, so there's none of them
that are for sale. So we want people to stay
as long as they can so take long leases. We
want to let them put down routes and basically call
it home. So we allow them to decorate the departments.
If they want to paint the walls, they can do that.
They can bring their pets. We have all their amenities

(02:40):
on site. There's gym, there's coworking, there's barbecues. We've got
a concierge on site. And it's a secure place. It's
not like, you know, we're going to change our mind
and sell the apartment underneath them, or my daughter is
going to move in on anything like that. They can
basically know that once they're in, if they have good
quality tenant, we want them to stay as long as
they want to stay.

Speaker 2 (03:00):
And what is the minimum lease that you offer?

Speaker 3 (03:04):
Typically most people sign a twelve months to eighteen month leaset,
and we will go longer than that, and in special
circumstances we will go shorter down to six months.

Speaker 2 (03:14):
Yeah, okay, it seems looking at the rents starting at
six hundred and ninety seven through to nine hundred and
twenty one for a two bitty two bathroom, it seems
relatively expensive.

Speaker 3 (03:26):
Well, what you have to consider is you're getting all
those amenities for free, so you don't have to go
and pay for gym, you don't have to go off
and pay for coworking, and all your white war is
thrown and so your watching machine and your double miles,
your fridges, everything's behind and you've got all those services
on site, all included in the rent.

Speaker 2 (03:47):
So if I was, say with a small child, and
I wanted security of tenures so I could see my
child could go to the same school for the next
you know, six or seven years, would this be the
option that you would consider to be the best for
my circumstances.

Speaker 3 (04:06):
Absolutely, you can find the six or seven years if
you want. We'll sign off to ten year leagueses if
you want that security of tenure.

Speaker 2 (04:13):
It's sort of like a retirement village, but for all ages.

Speaker 1 (04:17):
Correct.

Speaker 3 (04:18):
Look, it's one of the biggest asset passes in the world.
It's massive in the States, massive in Europe and the UK,
and just starting to take off now in Australia. And
you know, we're very proud to bring this product to
the market. We think it just gives another choice for
people when they're looking for accommodation that you know, we
can put renters as customers and treat them as customers

(04:39):
and give them all of those great things that they're
looking for.

Speaker 2 (04:43):
I thank you for your time, my pleasure.

Speaker 3 (04:45):
Thank you.

Speaker 2 (04:45):
That was CEO Clive McKenzie of KWE Property talking Aboutrosiito.
As he says, renting is very, very big overseas where
people have long term leases, they are considered their homes.
It gives security of tenure. The buildings have to be
of good quality because you're going to be there for
ten years. Is it something you can see taking off?
He the psyche changed around home ownership.

Speaker 1 (05:09):
For more from Kerry Wood and Mornings, listen live to
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