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Every project has a story, a narrative, but this one was different...
This site has felt very personal from start to finish. Mainly because the old owner now lives in a Rosefern Home, so it feels like a cirlce has been completed.
Laraine had lived at 92 Tennyson for her entire adult life. It was full of memories and familiarity, but it had also become more than she needed. The section was large, the garden constant and the house itself was expensive to run and harder to keep comfortable as the years went on. She wasn’t looking for a new suburb or a new lifestyle, just something that better matched the stage of life she was in.
During our initial conversations about her section, she mentioned she was looking to downsize into a modern, north facing single storey home in the area - I mentioned one of our completed projects that hadn’t yet been released to the market and offered to show her around. From the moment she walked through the door, she knew that was her next home!
The layout worked. The orientation for the sun made sense. The connection between inside and out felt easy. It was the kind of home she’d been looking for and she said she thought she’d never find - what a stroke of luck and impeccable timing (we’d literally just had it staged ready for photos and marketing).
The move itself was small in distance, only a few kilometres, but significant in outcome. She stayed close to family, close to friends, and close to the neighbourhood she knew, while stepping into a home that was warmer, easier to run, and far simpler to live in day to day.
Instead of going through a traditional sale process, Laraine chose to work directly with us through our Home Exchange program. We visited her property, recognised that it was well suited to redevelopment, and structured an exchange that aligned the timing and outcomes for everyone involved.
Her existing home and land were worth more than the new Rosefern home she wanted, so on settlement day we swapped Titles and Laraine received a cash lump sum to make up the difference.
One move. One settlement. No open homes. No drawn-out timelines. Everything happened on her terms.
That simplicity is the point.
What she gained wasn’t just a new home, but flexibility. A place that costs less to heat and maintain, and capital that could be used to travel, spend time with family, or simply enjoy life without the background noise of ongoing upkeep. It was a practical decision, but also a very empowering one.
The idea behind Home Exchange isn’t new. It’s something I first came across years ago in the UK, where trading an existing home into a new build is a common and well-understood process. It always made sense to me. Rather than forcing people through a sell-then-buy sequence filled with uncertainty, it offered a clearer, more coordinated path forward.
When we first introduced the concept in New Zealand, it was called ‘Trade Up’. At the time, many people were exchanging older rental properties, often homes that no longer met modern standards, for new homes. They moved into something warmer, healthier, and easier to manage, while we gained sites that could be redeveloped for the next generation of homeowners.
As our focus shifted toward serving downsizers, the name evolved, but the principle stayed the same.
Home Exchange is simply the next iteration of something we’ve been doing for a long time: helping people move forward using the equity they already have, without unnecessary friction.
It’s like trading in an older car for a newer, more suitable one. Straightforward use of an asset you already own, for one you’d like to own in the future - you can read more about it here
Once the site was secured, the design approach was a little different to many developments you’ll see around the city.
At Rosefern, we start with the end buyer in mind - product-customer-fit - and we wanted to give these homes 'breathing room’. Being approx 1200m2, we could have squeezed up to 11 townhouses with car parking on, by right (more if car parking was removed). But that goes so far against our philosophy. We wanted to create homes that would appeal to downsizers - designing floor plans that included downstairs master bedrooms with ensuite.
Well, it gives the ability to live on one level should the owner choose to do so. New Zealand has an ageing population and less and less options within existing neighbourhoods that people know and love - to downsize into. Plenty of two bed townhouses with all bedrooms upstairs, but we want to cater for a different end of the market.
We actually go through a customer ‘avatar’ process, in which we work backwards from site selection and ask ourselves; who would live here? How old are they? What do they do on weekends? What are their needs and wants? How much money are they able to spend to get their dream home? How can we design these homes to suit all of the above?
With 92 Tennyson the general avatar for the downsize appropriate homes looked a little like this:
Healthy, wealthy, active 65+, lives within 5km of the development, maybe Cashmere Hills resident downsizing to the flat with a budget of $1m comfortably and they want garage, storage, large decks for entertaining and room to host family and upstairs for the kids and grandkids to stay. Appreciates being walking distance to river walks, cafes, bars, gyms, supermarket and pharmacy.
When we started fielding enquiry, it was amazing how the design had attracted our ideal customer avatars. But their feedback has been even more valuable, and this feedback will certainly improve our offerings going forward.
In many ways it was a bold move. Rosefern has been a ‘townhouse’ infill developer up until now. But we want to do something different. The really find our niche and our deliver something to what appears to be an undersupplied end of the market who are happy to pay for the quality we like to deliver.
So when we designed the site, there was the usual pang of anxiety as it was a leap of faith into a new realm, and I’d really put my neck on the line (after doing lots of research I might add, into the shifting demographics of the NZ housing market).
The mix of two and three bedroom homes was intentional. Single-level living, thoughtful storage, strong indoor-outdoor connection and materials that feel timeless rather than trend-driven. These are homes designed to age well, both physically and functionally.
The project has now been completed and is almost fully sold. We’ve chosen to retain one home and take it to auction through Harcourts, not because the project needs it, but because establishing strong comparable value benefits every owner in the block. It’s a long-term view, and one we believe is in the best interests of the people who have bought into the development.
By going against the grain, we weren’t trying to maximise density of the site or chase short-term gains. The goal was to create homes that felt considered, comfortable and appropriate for the area and assess the demand for the typology of home that we were embarking on delivering.
We agreed, if demand was strong, we’d feel comfortable delivering more supply. And demand has been strong, strong enough for us to begin designing multiple other developments with downstairs master bedrooms for our buyers. Specifically 23 Ensors Road, not far from Tennyson Street, which will be the proud new owner of 6 beautifully designed 3 bedroom, downsizer appropriate homes - all standalone with garaging. If another ‘townhouse developer’ got their mits on that site, it would likely have 10 x 2 bedroom townhouses in a row with a block of car parking. Needless to say, the neighbours are happy with our designs!
Practical Completion
From a practical perspective, the project shows our ability to execute proficiently. We are just 11 months from settlement of the land, to brand new homes delivered to a high spec on the site with people living in them. We have honed our processes and speed is not our only metric, quality is incredibly important to us.
As with most projects, we had to work hard to minimise roadblocks and keep the development moving. Neighbours have been great to deal with, even though no one really likes developers when they’re sharing a boundary during the construction phase!
Apologies, we are noisy and disruptive but it’s all in the name of progression and it’s a relatively short window of annoyance to endure but the lasting impact of quality housing on your boundary line does wonders for the community and values in the area. We thank you for your patience!
When I look back at 92 Tennyson Street, it really does capture the direction we’re heading in as a business. We’re now very clear about who we’re building for, designing homes that genuinely suit the stage of life people are in, and keeping the whole process as straightforward as possible.
Small things like solar as standard because retirees don’t want outgoings to be high - that money is better spent of the grandkids or the next overseas trip, converted into Euro’s and used to buy a croissant in Paris, am I right?!
What Laraine’s experience shows, and what we see time and time again, is that downsizing isn’t about compromising, it’s more about rightsizing.
It’s quite a liberating move, to let go of the parts of a home that no longer serve you, and keep the parts that actually improve day-to-day life. Warmth, comfort, ease, and the freedom to use your time, energy and released capital differently.
That’s what we’re trying to build into every project now. Homes that feel considered, not compromised. Places where people can move into the next chapter of their lives without feeling like they’ve taken a step backwards.
Projects like 92 Tennyson are also a good reminder for us internally. The best developments don’t start with spreadsheets or yield calculations, even though those things matter. They start with people. With conversations. With listening carefully to what someone actually wants their life to look like in five or ten years, and then working backwards from there.
We hope you get a chance to visit our open day on January 24th and see the development for yourself, we welcome, and are very open to feedback!
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