No backyard, no car, no mortgage: The Kiwi families rewriting the quarter-acre dream

Sunday, 7 June 2026

Resource Management Minister Chris Bishop has announced a backdown on Auckland housing intensification legislation.

Gemma Mason and Paddy Bartlett raise their 7-year-old son in a two-bedroom central Auckland apartment they bought for $600,000 in 2018. They’re now mortgage-free.

In Auckland, standalone homes made up only 35% of new housing consented in March 2026, with townhouse and attached dwellings consents totalling 56%.

Plan Change 120 enables high-rise living around key transport hubs and major centres as Auckland Council pushes for greater residential intensification.

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When Gemma Mason and Paddy Bartlett decided to raise their son in a central Auckland apartment, Mason’s mother was surprised.

She was “a little bit shocked because she is a Kiwi and ‘we don’t do that here’,” Mason said. “She was worried about where our kid was going to play.”

For Paddy Bartlett and Gemma Mason’s 7-year-old son, home has always been their two-bedroom apartment near Britomart.

Mason grew up in a house with a big garden and trees to climb. But when it came to what she wanted for her own family, the “quarter-acre dream” looked different.

“I wouldn’t say I never dreamed about it, but the dream is you have a huge yard and a dog and also somehow magically no commute, and then you start thinking about which parts of the dream you are willing to alter and which parts you want to keep.”

Home for their 7-year-old son has always been their two-bedroom apartment near Britomart, which has a study, bathroom, kitchen and connected living and dining area.

Rather than a private backyard, the city has become part of his playground. The apartment complex has a shared roof area and a small veggie pod. Nearby are parks, libraries and the waterfront.

The family do not own a car. The school run is usually done by e-bike, and they also use buses and trains.

The couple bought the apartment for about $600,000 in 2018. They are now mortgage-free - something Bartlett doubts would have happened if they had bought a standalone house.

The couple bought their apartment for about $600,000 in 2018. They are now mortgage-free.

“With the house it would have been, what, 20 more years,” Bartlett said. “But you can actually do this here and then you have more resources and time to spend with your family.

“I talk to people about this and they say the house is an investment for the future, but I’m not raising a kid in the future.”

Across Auckland, this family of three is part of a wider shift.

While most children and young people in our biggest city still live in separate houses, the latest census data shows more are growing up in joined dwellings, such as apartments, flats, units and townhouses. The number rose by 34,062 between 2018 and 2023, a 67% increase.

Auckland Council’s housing updates show attached homes have also made up the majority of new dwelling consents in recent years. In March 2026, 35% of new dwellings consented across Auckland were houses, 9% were apartments and 56% were townhouses, flats, units, retirement village units or other attached dwellings.

Townhouses, flats, units and other attached dwellings have made up at least half of new consents in each March update since 2022.

For Bartlett’s family, less space has put more within reach - more time together, shorter commutes and a city full of public spaces on their doorstep.

Dr Tim Welch, University of Auckland senior lecturer in urban planning, says a car-free life could become realistic for more people if higher-density neighbourhoods brought jobs, schools, shops and services closer to where people lived.

The family don’t own a car. The school run is usually done by e-bike and they also use buses and trains.

University of Auckland senior lecturer Dr Tim Welch said a car-free life could become realistic for more people if higher-density neighbourhoods brought jobs, schools, shops and services closer to where people lived.

Auckland was likely to see more intensification over the next 10-20 years, with more homes built in places people wanted to live, he said.

Plan Change 120 would extend higher-density housing beyond the city centre, enabling greater building heights and densities around train stations, rapid transit stops and major centres.

But that did not mean every family would end up in an apartment, he said.

“I don’t think the idea of a large section with a big yard, or the garden, or whatever else, is going anywhere, but building up offers another route to home ownership or just living where somebody wants to live.”

Jenifer Silva said Auckland was still “immature” in how it thought about apartment living, and needed to better recognise the city centre - not CBD - as a place where people lived full-time.

Welch said successful growing cities needed to offer a range of homes, while Aucklanders were becoming more accustomed to smaller homes, with communal spaces doing some of the work once expected of the private backyard.

“I think we’re starting to maybe follow the more European model where we’re OK with smaller housing units, relying on parks and green spaces,” Welch said.

But even as Auckland allows for more compact, connected neighbourhoods, the pull of the standalone home remains strong. The 2025 Ipsos Housing Monitor found 41% of New Zealanders preferred a detached house in the suburbs, while 23% preferred a rural home and 12% an inner-city apartment.

An Auckland Council open space strategy, released last year, has also acknowledged the pressure that comes with a more compact city, saying private green space is becoming scarcer and opportunities to deliver more parks are limited by land availability and cost.

The strategy points to possible solutions, including prioritising new parks in high-density areas, requiring better private and communal open space in new developments, and encouraging rooftop areas for play, sport and recreation.

For solo mother Jenifer Silva, that more compact, connected way of living suited her family.

Silva previously lived on the North Shore in a 240m² house. She and her 14-year-old son now live in a city-centre apartment of about 50m², or 70m² including the deck.

The smaller layout suited her immediately.

“In the other house, it was three storeys of just constantly yelling out trying to find this child, get him to the dinner table, get him into the bathroom,” Silva said.

She knew the move meant giving up a flat lawn and space for a trampoline, but said her son was older, and still had places to be active, including the apartment complex’s swimming pool.

“I don’t feel like I’ve given up anything. In fact, I feel like I’ve gained so much more in terms of lifestyle and health.”

Silva said Auckland was still “immature” in how it thought about apartment living, and needed to better recognise the city centre - not CBD - as a place where people lived full-time.

John Duguid, Auckland Council general manager planning and resource consents, said Plan Change 120 would enable more housing choices in areas with easier access to the city centre and rapid transit.

“While some households prefer to live further out, many others, including families, choose to live closer to jobs, services and public transport.”

More than 38,000 residents already called the city centre home, he said. As more children lived centrally, Duguid said the council would continue to advocate with the Ministry of Education for schooling options in the city centre.

As for Silva, she said apartment living would not suit every family. But for hers, it had worked.

“I don’t think I’ll ever move out of the city,” she said.

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