Westpac NZ has partnered with Central Pacific Collective to support shared home ownership arrangements in the new Our Whare Our Fale development in Eastern Porirua, with families receiving the keys to their homes this week.
The bank has provided mortgages to all 18 new homeowners under shared ownership agreements. A further 32 homes are planned for next year, with 300 expected by 2030 as the development grows.
Fa’amatuainu Tino Pereira, Central Pacific Collective chief executive, said collaboration had been essential in delivering the project.
He said: “Enabling Our Whare Our Fale has been a journey of many years and we’re grateful to everyone who’s been involved. We’re pleased to have Westpac as our banking partner and acknowledge the support they have provided to our homeowners. We are not just building homes; we are building hope, stability and belonging for generations to come.”
Helen Ryder, Westpac NZ managing director consumer banking and wealth, said the bank was proud to support the shared ownership pathway.
She said: “We’ve been working with Central Pacific Collective for a number of years and are particularly pleased to have been able to help with the design of the shared home ownership scheme for Our Whare Our Fale.”
Under the programme, Pasifika families could apply to buy homes with Central Pacific Collective contributing up to 40% of the purchase price, with homeowners able to buy out that share over time. Westpac supports shared ownership structures and provides standard mortgages to meet borrowing needs.
Ryder said the scheme addresses a significant home ownership gap. She said: “The latest census data showed just 19.9% of Pasifika people in Aotearoa owned their own home in 2023, compared with 66% of all New Zealanders.
We want to help make a difference so it’s really positive to be working with Central Pacific Collective on a development of this scale.” Westpac’s Government Innovation Fund also provided a grant in 2023 to support the physical design of the project.
The development draws inspiration from Pasifika villages, with two-, three- and four-bedroom homes designed for intergenerational living. All homes are oriented towards a central communal fale, which will host gatherings, services and celebrations.
Sustainability features include community solar power to help reduce energy costs for residents. Central Pacific Collective, founded in 2014 as a charitable trust supporting Pasifika health providers, has since expanded its focus to broader wellbeing initiatives, including housing.
For new homeowner Erin Millar, the project represents a major turning point.
She said: “After meeting the CPC team and learning about Our Whare Our Fale, I started to think that homeownership could actually be possible for me. The answer had always been ‘no’, but this is a life changing moment for me. In the last eight years we’ve had to move four times. Our new home will bring stability, and certainty to me and my whānau.”