Property
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Independence shapes modern retirement choices in premium villages
- January 13, 2026
Senior Trust Retirement Village Income Generator says independence is becoming a defining priority for people entering retirement, and premium retirement villages are well placed to meet this need for the next generation of older New Zealanders. Executive Director Scott Lester says the meaning of independence has shifted over time. Fifty years ago, it largely meant remaining in the family home and relying on informal support. Today, it reflects a desire for control, connection and access to...
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Why retirement village investment matters more than ever
- December 17, 2025
Private capital is quietly reshaping New Zealand’s retirement sector, delivering measurable social outcomes alongside investor returns. While often seen as a niche asset class, secured lending into premium retirement village development is having broader impacts than many might expect. John Jackson, Executive Director of Senior Trust Retirement Village Income Generator Limited, says the sector sits at the intersection of two major national challenges: housing supply and aged care. “New...
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Retirement villages show the future of housing
- December 9, 2025
Retirement villages are changing fast, and in the process, they are pointing the way forward how New Zealand could design its future communities. John Jackson, Executive Director of Senior Trust Retirement Village Income Generator, says the shift is not only architectural but social. “There is a rising awareness that well-designed senior living communities can meet a much broader set of needs than shelter alone. They can foster connection, enable wellbeing, and reflect the kind of sustainab...
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Designing for dignity in later life
- December 4, 2025
New Zealand’s retirement villages are being reimagined not just for function but for dignity, independence, and wellbeing. Scott Lester, Executive Director of Senior Trust Retirement Village Income Generator (STIG), says a shift in mindset is underway as operators respond to a new generation of residents who expect more from retirement than past models have delivered. “What we’re seeing is not just a design trend, but a values shift. This generation of older New Zealanders is a...
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Breakthrough AI design technology set to reshape New Zealand’s commercial property market
- November 27, 2025
A breakthrough in design technology is set to reshape New Zealand’s commercial property industry with the launch of Gaze’ AI Visualisation tool. The AI-powered 3D AI Visualisation platform enables landlords, agents, and tenants to view three alternative full colour layouts, a complete 3D walkthrough, and estimated fitout costs within 24 hours, instead of the 2–5 weeks the process traditionally takes. Believed to be the first tool of its kind in New Zealand, Gaze AI Visualisatio...
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Retirement living is no longer a retreat
- November 19, 2025
Retirement living is changing as New Zealand’s ageing population drives demand for communities that offer more than just care. Scott Lester, executive director of Senior Trust Retirement Village Income Generator Limited, says the shift reflects a deeper cultural change in how New Zealanders approach later life. “In our experience, today’s retirees want options that align with how they have lived their lives so far. They are independent, experienced and financially active. The sec...
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Here is the change: Building for people instead of numbers
- November 18, 2025
“Houses here are often built for yield and deadlines with low consideration for those that will live in them,” says scientist turned developer Kirsty Merriman. “We can do better, and the intention of this new development, The Charter: 394 East Coast Road, shows it can be done.” Merriman, developer and founder of Kirsty Merriman, is applying both a scientific and corporate discipline to the business of building. With a Master of Science and 17 years of international corporate exper...
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Wellness is core to the retirees of 2026 onwards
- October 31, 2025
Retirees in the next couple of years are going to be looking to purchase ‘wellness’ with their retirement village choices. STIG Executive Director John Jackson, Senior Trust Retirement Village Income Generator, which provides secured lending to New Zealand’s senior living and aged care sector through financing of trusted operators, says the market is evolving. “Some residents are selecting communities on the strength of daily wellness,” says Jackson. The generation ent...
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Luxury retirement village buyers seek connection, and calm
- October 29, 2025
Some retirees considering luxury villages in 2026 are focused on independence, design, and meaningful living rather than facilities alone. STIG Executive Director Scott Lester, Senior Trust Retirement Village Income Generator which provides secured lending to New Zealand’s senior living and aged care sector through financing of trusted operators, says the luxury segment has matured. “People are not just buying into a location. They are choosing how they want to live, connect, and...
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Senior Trust reports strong results at 2025 AGM
- October 19, 2025
Auckland, NEW ZEALAND – Senior Trust Retirement Village Income Generator Limited (STIG) has reported strong financial results and a positive outlook at its Annual Shareholder Meeting noting the increasing opportunities in the retirement village sector underpinned by an ageing population. Executive Director John Jackson opened the meeting, welcoming shareholders and acknowledging the uncertain global and domestic environment. He noted that despite recent challenges the company had paid attra...
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Boomers are rewriting retirement: it’s about lifestyle
- October 8, 2025
Senior Trust Retirement Village Income Generator (STIG) says property wealth is being converted into better living for retirees and, not just a roof over heads. Baby boomers are entering retirement with a clear vision of how they want to live, and, for the most part, they’re far from slowing down but instead seeking high-amenity communities that offer connection, wellness, and security. STIG Executive Director Scott Lester says the demand for premium retirement villages is a sign of ...
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Demand surge risks putting retirement villages beyond reach
- October 1, 2025
Senior Trust Retirement Village Income Generator (STIG) considers that demand for retirement villages, particularly at the luxury end, is outpacing supply. The pipeline of new retirement villages is failing to keep pace with New Zealand’s ageing population says STIG, a provider of secured lending to New Zealand’s senior living and aged care sector (through financing of trusted operators, STIG supports the development of senior living communities throughout New Zealand). Executive D...
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Regional retirement housing gaps widen as demand rises
- September 16, 2025
AUCKLAND, NZ — New analysis of retirement village penetration rates reveals sharp regional disparities in housing provision for older New Zealanders. While some regions are comparatively well supplied with retirement village units, others continue to fall behind, raising concerns about equity of access as the population ages. Research says the Bay of Plenty remains the most developed retirement village market in the country, with penetration rates approaching 18 per cent. Canterbur...
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Retirement reform review on the agenda
- September 11, 2025
AUCKLAND, New Zealand – Whilst reform of the Retirement Villages Act remains on the agenda, Executive Director, Senior Trust Retirement Village Income Generator (STIG), John Jackson, said New Zealand’s ageing population continues to drive unprecedented demand for senior living. Estimates are that there will be a shortfall of almost 8,400 retirement village units by 2033. At the same time, building consents in 2024 saw fewer than 1,700 new units approved nationwide. The gap betw...
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Supply crunch intensifies despite unit growth
- September 9, 2025
AUCKLAND, New Zealand: Although the retirement village sector added 2,298 new units in 2023, recent data reveal that the pace of development remains insufficient to meet rapidly rising demand driven by demographic shifts. Executive Director of Senior Trust Retirement Village Income Generator (STIG), John Jackson, said the 2,298 new units, according to the JLL Research Retirement Villages Market Review, are higher than the 5-year average of 1,913 units and the 10-year average of 1,696 units....
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Kiwis need education to avoid the residential investment bias
- August 24, 2023
More needs to be done to educate Kiwis about alternative investment options if the country is to succeed in shifting the focus of middle New Zealand from onerous debt-burdened residential property investment as the only path to financial security. Director of wholesale Commercial Property Investment firm Mates Invest, Ryan Impson, says that while politicians may promise to wind back property taxes and reinstate the ability to offset interest paid on home loans...
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It’s time for Kiwis to end their love affair with residential property
- August 10, 2023
The eroding viability of residential property investment is a good reason to support a new debt-free commercial property venture aiming to keep Kiwi dollars in New Zealand. Company director at Mates Invest, Ryan Impson, says timing is everything, and increasing financial uncertainty is a massive opportunity for Kiwis to pivot to a more simplified investment strategy. While some in the finance industry warn mum-and-dad investors that the national preoccupation with residential property ...
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Social stigmatism may be the reason many Kiwis fear property investment
- July 18, 2023
The social shaming of property investors by politicians is one reason ordinary Kiwis are nervous about investing. Prominent Wellington Property Coach Steve Goodey says two critical pillars of the New Zealand economy are farming and property investment--food and housing--and both are under attack by politicians such as the Greens. "Politicians and activists are using the power of envy to shape public opinion and to leverage votes, without thinking through the long-term consequences ...
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Unlock the Matakana lifestyle, earn while you sleep
- June 21, 2023
Designed and purpose-built to be shared, the newly completed Matakana Sheds bring a touch of the Canadian Rockies to the heart of the village and a fresh take on the traditional batch—having been initially created to generate passive income from Airbnb. Now up for sale as a buy one or buy all offer (main house included), each of the five brand new one-bedroom A-frame steel dwellings—reminiscent of Canada's snow-covered mountains and lakes—enjoy a large, maintenance-free garden tropica...
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Mom ‘n pop investors moving to sell-up amid recession fear
- February 10, 2023
As interest rates rise and house prices start to come down, the market is seeing a rise in mom-and-pop property investors contemplating whether to sell their investment properties in the expectation that times may get tougher, said Ray White Mairangi Bay agent Drew Miller. New data from the CoreLogic House Price Index showed home prices might dip a further 15-20% in the second half of 2023. On top of that, while increases in the Reserve Bank’s official cash rate (OCR) are forecast...
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Urgent need for mandates around home based renewable energy
- November 30, 2022
A New Zealand solar energy installer is warning that electrifying New Zealand—EV vehicles, trains and digital technologies—while building thousands of new homes that cannot generate their own renewable energy is foolhardy in light of Transpower’s warnings about strain on the national power grid. The director of Vital Solar, a leading Auckland solar energy specialist, Cameron Dick, said that even if new buildings were provisioning for renewable energy, there are not enough trained instal...
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House vendor confusion leading to losses and disappointment
- November 25, 2022
Property vendors who try to outsmart the market by holding out for the heady sales prices of yesterday are bound to come unstuck, a local Ray White real estate agent is warning. Ray White Mairangi Bay real estate agent, Drew Miller, said today that mixed messages from commentators about where the market is going is leading to vendor confusion, indecision and, in some cases, cause financial losses. "People hear that prices are trending down, then they read that some regions are recording re...
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New flexible co-working space launches in Hamilton city centre
- October 20, 2022
Co-working space The Crate plans to complement the energy of Hamilton’s town centre with the opening of a new facility in the city—modelled on its highly-popular Rosedale flexible working office space. The multi-use co-working space will be located on 526 Victoria Street and feature similar facilities to The Crate’s successful Auckland-based offering. It will offer 90 desks with a mix of both flexible and dedicated workstations, boardrooms, office suites, virtual offices, business co...
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Zoning law changes could create threats, opportunities and neighbourly wars
- October 13, 2022
The government's latest changes to city planning rules will almost certainly ignite an increase in simmering neighbour wars, but there are ways to avoid too much friendly fire, says Ray White real estate agent Drew Miller. "Upcoming government planning reforms will create lots of opportunities for homeowners, but I expect we're going to see a sharp escalation in neighbourhood conflicts," Miller says. In August, the government introduced two major planning reforms to enable higher...
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Flood of Boomers selling up face big losses due to lax 1990s compliance
- September 6, 2022
With the bulk of Baby Boomers expected to sell up and retire between 2022-2037, the lax property compliance practices of the last 40 years are coming back to bite many who are at risk of losing all the value in their actual houses—buyers are only prepared to pay for the land—because they don't have Code of Compliance Certificates (CCC). Ray White Mairangi Bay licensed real estate agent Drew Miller warned he is seeing a rising number of boomers who—wanting to sell up because they want to...
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What Is Coworking, and What Are Its Benefits
- August 2, 2022
Coworking spaces have existed for some time, but following the COVID Pandemic, they’ve entered something of a heyday. Businesses have begun recognizing the many benefits of coworking. Join us as we discuss coworking, explain what it is, and touch on some of its many benefits. What is Coworking? “Coworking” is the use of a mutual office by freelancers and workers from different companies. The coworking space is owned and managed privately, and companies or individuals essentially rent ...
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