We speak to Auckland councillor Josephine Bartley on the one thing that helped her become a homeowner at 52, after spending a lifetime thinking she would never get to own her own home.
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Auckland councillor Josephine Bartley started 2025 finally living out a dream that she never thought would be possible: owning her own home.
Like so many Kiwis – and so many Aucklanders! – the reality of becoming a home owner always seemed out of reach for Josephine. “[I had] no deposit, no savings,” she tells Capsule.
Plus, there was the reality of affording a mortgage on one income, and then the long-term money fears. “Did I want to be tied into this 20-plus year commitment?”
As a community-minded person, Josephine is a big believer in donating to her community but friends were telling her that she needed to start thinking of her own future: “With rent going up, how can I afford – as a pensioner – to continue to rent?”
The solution was something unexpected: Tāmaki Regeneration.
Covering three large parts of Auckland – Glen Innes, Panmure and Point England – Tāmaki Regeneration is a a first-of-its-kind urban regeneration programme that is, over the next 20 years, looking to support not only the area by replacing the old state houses with new government builds, but also support the community by making it possible for people to own their own homes, through shared ownership.
After watching the financial pressures of a mortgage impact her family, Josephine says she was always wary of taking on her own.
“My father died at 52, after spending his life working to pay the mortgage, then ended up losing the house due to my mum’s chronic gambling,” Josephine says. But it was her own 52nd birthday approaching, with the bittersweet knowledge that she would be outliving her own father, that pushed Josephine to investigate Tāmaki Regeneration Company (TRC) a concept she had heard about years ago but never followed up.
After starting the process, Josephine said she was optimistic but – like so many of us who have ever considered the Auckland housing market – she remained cautious.
“It wasn’t until the keys were in my hand that I believed it!” she tells Capsule.
She shared her journey on Facebook to not only spread the word about TRC, but also her own personal feelings and challenges about becoming a home owner.
“As a public representative I believe we have a platform and to use it to benefit others with whatever we come across that will help,” she says. “Home ownership is hard enough so schemes like this are vital to help people get on property ladder who might not otherwise have a chance.”
She can see already how many families this might help. “For those living in intergenerational situations, they could pool their income to get out of state housing for example or renting and having to use garages for extra space.”
After living in her new home for a few months, Josephine is enjoying her own space and says the community-minded goal of TRC suits her. But the thing she is most excited about having her own home? “Not having to hide my job from my landlord,” she laughs.
Amen to that!
