Homes and Community in Broomfield
The Residences at Karamū is a neighbourhood of 84 homes in Broomfield, Christchurch, one of the developments brought to life by the Home Foundation group. It was built for all kinds of households to belong side by side: families buying their first home, people renting, and whānau in social housing. Completed in 2022, it was built around a simple hope, that everyone here would have somewhere warm, safe, and settled to call home. Te Wawata Kāinga is the property manager at Karamū, caring for the homes day to day through our Property Management service and supporting the community that has grown around them.
In 2024 the development won the Community and Affordable Housing Award at the Property Industry Awards, judged alongside projects from across the country.
At a glance:
- 84 homes across 5 typologies
- 35% first-home buyers, bought at 30% below the median price
- 33% social housing
- 32% mixed ownership
- Around 227 residents
- Homestar 6 and 7 rated
At Karamū, homes were built to a single standard across all five typologies, so a first home, a rental, and a social housing home look no different from the street. That was deliberate: one neighbourhood, where every household has a warm, well-made home and an equal place in it.
The layout does the quiet work. Homes face the street, and paths connect so the ordinary business of the day brings neighbours into contact. Green space is spread through the site, with a central greenspace to host community events and bring the neighbourhood together. The design leaves room for connection and lets it happen naturally.
What makes Karamū work is the mix of people in it. When families who own, families who rent, and families in social housing share the same streets. Children grow up around a wider world and neighbours connect by looking out for one another in the small, everyday ways that turn a subdivision into a place people belong.
How we care for Karamū
At Karamū, Te Wawata Kāinga is the property manager, and our work here runs across two relationships. The first is with the owners. We look after the homes and the shared spaces on behalf of the people and organisations who own them, with the same personal, proactive approach we bring to every property in our care.
That means protecting the long-term value of each home while keeping it performing well. We coordinate maintenance and repairs, manage contractors, and run regular inspections. We keep homes compliant with Healthy Homes standards, plan maintenance ahead rather than waiting for things to break, and review rents against the market so owners see a sustainable return. Owners get clear, consistent reporting, so they always have a straightforward picture of how their property is doing.
Beyond the day-to-day running, we're just as invested in the community itself. At Karamū we partner with Te Whare Awhero, a local organisation whose roots in the local area give them a depth of community knowledge we could never bring on our own. This is a strategic partnership built on local context and shaped around local need. Te Whare Awhero helps people with housing, employment, and access to physical and mental health services, and leads the everyday work that builds real connection, like the Community Pantry and other ongoing initiatives. Our part is to stay close to what’s happening on the ground, keep owners informed about how the neighbourhood is functioning, and make sure the people responsible for this place have what they need to look after it well.
Community life at Karamū
Community at Karamū has grown at its own pace. Street parties, Matariki celebrations, and Easter gatherings have been shaped by residents, not run from an office, and the everyday initiatives that Te Whare Awhero leads keep things ticking over in quieter ways. Small, regular contact like this has done more to build connection than any one-off event, turning neighbours into people who actually know each other.
What residents tell us
Surveys at Karamū show what good housing quality makes possible:
- 100% of residents surveyed feel safe in their home and neighbourhood
- 85% rate their home as warm and dry
- 81% rate their home as well designed
- 74% say their housing suits their household
- 66% feel they could ask a neighbour for help
- 56% know their neighbours’ names
- 56% would like more chances to connect with their neighbours
The pattern is a familiar one. Housing stability comes quickly; a real sense of community takes longer. The homes gave people a secure base, and the rest is following in its own time.
I’m a single mum with three under three. Karamū meant I could provide stability for them; have somewhere to call home, instead of going back to a motel every day.
– Karamū resident
A place still finding its shape
Every home at Karamū started from one idea: that a good home is the ground everything else stands on. The houses are warm, safe, and well made, the kind of place where a family shares a meal and someone closes the door at the end of a hard day and feels, at last, settled. For many households here, that has been the difference between getting by and getting ahead.
Karamū has also taught us patience. A warm house can be handed over on day one, but community is slower, growing through familiar faces and small kindnesses repeated over time. Our part is to keep the place well cared for and leave room for that to build at its own pace.
We are proud of what Karamū already is, and just as interested in what it is still becoming.
