A developer said Auckland could see more build to rent apartments. (File photo) Photo: RNZ/Calvin Samuel
Every apartment in a new building by developer Ockham in Auckland's Point Chevalier will be rented rather than sold due to a slow property market.
The chief executive of Ockham Residential's Whetū development William Deihl told Morning Report all 77 apartments will be leased.
"The market is a lot slower than previous years.
"We've been in a recessionary sort of environment for quite some time now, but it's come to a head over the past couple of years."
Deilh explained that Ockham have developed build to rent buildings before, and it was on the table for the Whetū block as it was being built.
"It's not something that's uncommon for us.
"It's really dictated by the sales market and interest rates. The OCR has been quite sluggish with coming down and hopefully there's a big drop to come."
Deihl discussed the benefits of a single landlord for the building as opposed to private landlords for each apartment.
"When people are renting an apartment from a solo owner they don't get the same security that you get when you have a single landlord over the space.
"It's something that we have done for a long time and we think it's a good offering."
Deihl said build to rent buildings have been spoken about within the industry more in the past four years.
While the Auckland apartment market is slow, Deihl said there were a number of great buildings out there, and there are more options than before, but mainly at the higher-end of the market.
"There's not a lot going on in this relatively affordable apartment market that we are doing."
Rents in the Whetū building will range from $500-$580 a week for a studio, with two bedrooms going for $700 to around $780 a week.
Deihl said Ockham remains optimistic about the future of the market, and with interest rates trending down, believes the market will be stimulated.
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