A connected, healthy and supported life—within reach.

We are not your average developer.

  • We utilise financial mechanisms that enable better outcomes for less, and that support meaningful affordability to help you and your community build a wealthy future.

  • We work with targeted partners to streamline supply and value chains and implement industry-leading technology and design at an accessible price point.

  • We use world-leading social science tools and practices to engage with future residents and the surrounding communities to ensure we're designing for everyone to thrive.

  • We design and deliver built form that responds to and enhances the dynamic, evolving patterns of the natural context, alongside practical measures to use resources wisely.

At Living Systems Development, 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 used to be a ladder anyone could climb, offering security and a platform for a better life. Today, that ladder is out of reach for many.

We are bringing the ladder back*.

Our financing options are purposefully designed to meet the needs of income earners who have been priced out of the traditional housing market.

  • 5% deposit available to most buyers.

Low Deposit

  • Monthly repayments that are 30% lower than the average low-equity mortgage.

Low repayments

  • Our range of financial products (including shared equity rent-to-own) ensures everyone has access.

Zero Barriers

Our mission is to restore the relationship between people and place, so that both can thrive as we live and grow there. Home ownership is a key way that we support enduring communities.

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 is:

Healthy*

  • Lower healthcare costs by addressing the primary causes of respiratory illnesses.*

Lowers Bills*

  • 83% lower annual heating and cooling costs, requiring almost no electricity or gas to stay warm and dry year-round.

Cost Neutral

  • All this at a cost 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 or cost to you.

  • Uses active air ventilation, to ensure clean air is regularly circulating throughout your home.

  • Maintains balanced humidity, to prevent mould, mildew, dust mites and other harmful bacteria growth.

  • Stays quiet, with indoor spaces insulated from outside activities, for healthy noise levels during day and night.

  • Made out of safe building materials, to ensure safe air quality.

*Compared to costs when living in a standard New Zealand home build to the building code minimum.

**All Toa Homes dwellings meet the World Health Organisation’s standards for a healthy home and are capable of being Passive House certified in New Zealand.

**The Toa Homes system aligns closely with our values, and is a key delivery partner. That said, we may use alternative delivery partners and suppliers as appropraite on a project-by-project basis, including pursuing industry-leading sustainability performance.

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 ventilation, 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% 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.

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.