Boldly reshaping development.
At Avant we believe the most meaningful places connect people to their neighbourhood, community and nature. From there, we bring together our team of design experts to shape homes and environments centred around making everyday life better.
It starts by listening and understanding people and place. From sunlight, privacy and nature to how people move, gather and connect, we consider the everyday details that shape how a place feels and functions. Because the impact development has on our lives, landscapes and communities is lasting, every decision deserves thought, care and intention. We believe purpose and commercial success can go hand in hand. And we’re proving it through the places we create. Places where people can put down roots, communities can flourish, and connection can grow over time. Places that redefine what a modern neighbourhood can be.
Avant at a glance
Project portfolio
Rangitoopuni
Rangitoopuni is a new community within Riverhead Forest, shaped in close partnership between Te Kawerau a Maki and Avant. Together, we’re regenerating the landscape, with expansive one-hectare homesites nestled among growing native bush. The low-density environment offers space, privacy and connection to nature, while keeping the city and everyday life within easy reach. A place to build, belong and put down roots.
Lifestyle lots — Coming soon
Pikotoetoe
Pikotoetoe is a new neighbourhood in the heart of Old Papatoetoe, designed around the ease and connection of everyday life. Homes are woven together by landscaped lanes, shared gardens and pathways, with shops, transport, schools and everyday essentials all within easy reach.
Completed homes — Selling now
Wirihana
Wirihana is a masterplanned community that benefits from its proximity to Manukau City. At Wirihana, we recognise that community spaces are as important as the built form. That’s why you’ll find masterfully built homes surrounded by green belts, pocket and central parks designed to bring people together.
Completed homes — Selling now
Te Māra
Te Māra is a warm, friendly community with sophisticated contemporary architecture in conveniently located Mount Roskill. Te Māra provides well-designed, engaging, livable homes that blend urban convenience and connection to nature. Te Māra features five micro-neighbourhoods, Hauhake, Tupu, Rui, Whakato and Keri.
Completed homes — Limited availability
Boathouse Bay
Boathouse Bay celebrates New Zealand seaside living at its best, with 33 individually designed homes threaded through a private beachside enclave. Designed by Crosson architects, Boathouse Bay was the first multi-unit project to win ‘Home of the Year’.
Completed homes — Sold
Kotuitui
Kotuitui is made up of the Courtyards and Terraces, completed in 2022. Each home was designed for modern living while incorporating a distinctive use of hard-wearing materials to create a fresh urban look. Avant’s commitment to design is reflected in the awards Kotuitui has achieved, including the Master Builders Awards, Gold Medal 2021 and NZIA Local Award 2024.
Completed homes — Sold
Project portfolio
The team
People Live Here
It sounds obvious. But it changes how we think about development. Avant is a close-knit, multidisciplinary team spanning development, design, finance, construction, brand, sales and marketing. We bring different perspectives around the same table, listen first, challenge convention and carry a clear vision through every stage. Our culture is one of constant improvement, bringing new ideas and rigour to the decisions we make. We build strong partnerships with iwi and work closely with government, councils, designers, consultants, contractors and specialists, bringing together the right expertise for each place. We’re stronger through collaboration, working with partners who share our ambition to create thoughtful, distinctive places made to last. Because the decisions we make today shape how people and communities will live for generations.
Mathew Peters
Director
Mat is a founder of Avant and has a senior leadership role. Specifically, Mat leads partnerships, project procurement, project concept, economic structuring, and risk management. He began his property career at an early age and now has over 35 years experience.
Selected Awards
Kotuitui Terraces
2021
Gold Award Winner
New Zealand Commercial Project Awards
2021
2021
Gold Award Winner
Community & Affordable Housing Property Award Property Council New Zealand Rider Levett Bucknail Property Industry Awards
2021
2021
Merit
Multi-Unit Residential Property Award Property Council New Zealand Rider Levett Bucknail Property Industry Awards
2021
Kotuitui Courtyards
2022
Excellence
Property Council New Zealand Rider Levett Bucknail Awards
2022
2022
Excellence
Multi Unit Residential Property Award Property Council New Zealand Rider Levett Bucknall Property Industry Awards
2022
2024
Winner
National Architects Awards for Multi-Units
2024
Boathouse Bay
2023
Winner
Auckland Architecture Awards
2023
2024
Home Of The Year
Auckland Architecture Awards
2024
Te Mara Keri
2025
Merit
Community & Affordable Housing Property Award Property Industry Awards
2025
2025
Excellence
Multi-Unit Residential Property Award Property Industry Awards
2025
Te Mara Whakato
2026
Merit
Community & Affordable Housing Property Award Property Industry Awards
2026
08.10.26
A neighbourhood worth celebrating: Boathouse Bay named Home of the Year.
When Boathouse Bay was named HOME Magazine's Home of the Year 2024, it became the first multi-unit development to receive the award's top honour. For us, what matters most is what this recognition says about the places New Zealand can create when we start with people's needs. It shows how a new neighbourhood can foster community and human connection while complementing its wider surroundings.
Opening the bay back up
The northern end of Snells Beach used to hold a single house, cut off from the rest of the coast by a small creek. Rather than keeping the best of the landscape for a few, the design shares it, with the sea and native bush forming a backdrop for the whole neighbourhood.
Today, Boathouse Bay is home to 33 households across two hectares, it feels less like a conventional development and more like a small coastal village that feels open, relaxed and part of its coastline, rather than set apart from it.
A village designed for connection
Crosson Architects drew inspiration from two familiar sights along this stretch of coast: the humble boatshed and the buildings of the nearby Sandspit campground.
Single and two-storey homes gather in small groups, with gables that push and pull and rooflines that rise and fall. Each home is positioned and oriented to make the most of either the sea views or the quiet of the bush.
The HOME Magazine judges called the homes "permanent baches", capturing the ease and informality of a Kiwi beach settlement, while being designed for everyday life.
Between the buildings are shared gardens, courtyards, laneways and barbecue spots that encourage neighbours to stop, talk, gather and spend time together.
The way residents have embraced life at Boathouse Bay is perhaps the best measure of its success. A community needs all sorts of people, at all stages of life and offering different types and sizes of homes was how this was supported. The residents have done the rest making the place their own with neighbours sharing their workshop sheds, their gardens and their Friday evenings.
This award belongs to Sam Caradus and the Crosson Architects team for how they’ve brought the place to life, and to Boffa Miskell, whose landscape design brings every part of the neighbourhood closer to nature. But ultimately, it’s the residents themselves who have turned a thoughtfully designed place into a real neighbourhood.
We hope it offers a glimpse of what higher-density living can feel like; connected to nature, and inspired by everyday life.
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