A connected, healthy and supported life—within reach.
We are not your average developer.
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We utilise financial mechanisms that support better design outcomes, more affordable access to home ownership and wealth-creation opportunities for you, your family and your community.
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We work with targeted partners to support streamlined supply chains with less money lost to unproductive margins, thoughtful design processes that reduce waste and maximise efficiency, and build systems that deliver higher quality, healthier and more sustainable homes for less cost.
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We use world-leading community engagement tools and practices to work with future residents and the surrounding communities to design for everyone to thrive.
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We design and deliver homes that respond to and enhance the dynamic, evolving patterns of the natural context, alongside practical measures to use resources wisely.
At Living Systems Development, our mission is to restore the relationship between people and place, so that both can thrive as we live and grow there.
We build homes and communities that are purposefully designed for people and planet to thrive — where home ownership is accessible so you and your family can grow there, for generations.
We believe everyone should have a pathway to home ownership.
Home ownership has always been a pathway to security and a foundation for building a better life. Today, we're expanding access to make this dream achievable for everyone.
We are making home ownership achievable again*.
Our financing options are purposefully designed to welcome income earners who haven't been served by the traditional housing market.
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Get started with just 5% of the purchase price as your deposit.
Low Deposit
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Enjoy monthly payments that are approximately 30% lower than typical low-equity mortgages.
Low repayments
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Access shared equity, rent-to-own and other alternatives tailored to your financial situation.
Lower Barriers
*Home ownership is a key way that we support enduring communities, but it is not the only way we contribute to our mission.
Our neighbourhoods are designed so that people and planet can thrive.
Designed and built to endure.
Our homes and shared spaces are built to handle whatever life throws at them — from extreme weather events to everyday challenges. Our communities work together, so when things get tough, you’re not facing it alone.
Sustainable living, made simple.
Having a low impact on our environment should not be rocket science, or require trips all over town to do your recycling. Our homes are designed to enable practical sustainable living through food production, solar power, shared energy systems and waste reduction initiatives.
A deep connection to nature.
We spend time understanding the natural environment before we build, and design to support the health of the natural world, so you can live a life that contributes positively to Papatūānuku.
Healthy home, healthy family, healthy life.
Our homes are warm, dry and quiet, with gold standard mechanical ventilation and heat recovery, which means you’re likely to spend much less on medical bills, compared with living in a home built to the New Zealand building code minimum.
Low ongoing energy and operating costs.
Our homes are up to 85-90% cheaper to run than homes built to the New Zealand building code. The components of our homes are built and delivered as a system designed for energy efficiency, which saves you money and minimises your impact on the planet.
A culture of sharing and support.
Our neighbourhoods are built on the idea that we’re better together when we share. Whether it’s sharing tools, energy or even meals in a shared kitchen, a spirt of cooperation makes life easier and more enjoyable.
We’re committed to making quality available to more of society.
All homes are not created equal.
We’ve partnered with Toa Homes to ensure your home is healthy for you and your family without compromising affordability. This means your home supports:
Better Health
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Lower healthcare costs by addressing the primary causes of respiratory illnesses.
Energy Savings
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Lower annual heating and cooling costs, requiring minimal active heating to stay warm and dry year-round.
Same Budget
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All this at a price comparable to any other New Zealand home, with mechanisms to support you getting there with lower monthly outgoings.
Your home:
Maintains a healthy temperature, year round, with little effort and no cost to you.
An airtight building envelope
Imagine your home wearing a perfectly fitted coat. This is what we call an airtight building envelope. It’s achieved through high-performance windows and doors, insulation to a very high standard, and careful attention to eliminating thermal bridges (places where heat can escape). We verify this through multiple blower door tests during construction, ensuring your home's 'coat' fits just right.
Mechanical ventilation and heat recovery
Your home needs to breathe — but in a controlled way. This is where mechanical ventilation with heat recovery comes in. Operating quietly in the background 24 hours a day, this system maintains consistent air temperatures while filtering out chemicals, carbon dioxide, and pollutants. It's like having a guardian that continuously protects your indoor air quality.
Design stage energy modelling
Before a single nail is hammered, we use sophisticated energy modelling at the design stage. Investing in modelling at this stage ensures all components work together to meet the World Health Organisation's Housing and Health Guidelines — because we believe these international standards, not just our local building code, should be the benchmark for your family's health.
Energy savings are in comparison to costs of operating a standard New Zealand home built to the building code minimum.
The Toa Homes system aligns closely with our values, and is a primary delivery partner. We may use alternative delivery partners and suppliers as appropriate on a project-by-project basis.
Discover where you belong.
We have projects underway in several locations across Aotearoa New Zealand’s North Island. Please get in touch with us to learn more or express your interest.
Creating a world that is more inclusive and adaptive.
We’re passionate about bringing people together on common ground, and using our years of experience in regenerative design and conscious development to build a resilient future for Aotearoa.
Ben Preston
With a career spanning the UK, Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand, Ben has been a long-time advocate of better, more sustainable ways of building. As a chartered Engineering Technologist, project facilitator and design consultant, he has been involved in a wide-range of projects including the Barangaroo South commercial towers, Alphington Village, the Plumbing Industry Climate Action Centre’s (PICAC) Narre Warren facility, Takaka Cohousing and more.
Rick Fourie
Rick is a national leader in the design, delivery and operation of innovative community infrastructure. He has spent the past 20 years growing various not-for-profit and impact ventures focused on supporting ripples of health and wellbeing in whānau and communities, and in recent years has become known as a national leader in innovative early childhood education through the Conscious Collective.