After almost four decades of living in state housing, an Auckland family has finally realised its dream of home ownership.
Andrew and Julie Kasipale, together with their two adult children, today moved into their Glen Innes house.
The four of them own their new home thanks to a shared equity scheme, with the New Zealand Housing Foundation in partnership with the Tamaki Regeneration Company.
The shared ownership model targets low-income households and those with smaller deposits, with the ultimate goal of families purchasing the home outright over time.
Andrew Kasipale told 1 NEWS it was hard to describe the feeling of owning his own house, after 39 years of living in state houses.
"It's a totally different feeling from jumping into your first car and going 'yeah I own this'.
"I'm in awe at the moment."
Housing Minister Phil Twyford says the Government would like to expand on the shared equity model, as another tool to tackle the housing crisis.
"For a family that's got no experience of saving, budgeting, and planning to buy a house, taking on a half a million dollar mortgage is a very tough thing to contemplate," he says.
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