Shona McFarlane Retirement Village
photos: operator / Village Guide
Retirement living · Avalon, Lower Hutt

Shona McFarlane Retirement Village

Shona Mcfarlane Retirement Village Limited · beside the Hutt River in Avalon · independent townhouses + serviced apartments + rest home & hospital care
Life Score
90
Exceptional
Capital Back
51
the money ↓
See what life here is like — then weigh what it means for your family further down.
The village

Life here

Set in beautifully landscaped gardens on Mabey Road in Lower Hutt, Shona McFarlane offers architecturally designed homes with views of the Western Hills and easy access to Avalon Park and the Hutt River Trail. Whether you choose a spacious townhouse or serviced apartment, you'll find yourself part of a thriving community where there's always something to do—from organised events and shopping trips to activities that inspire movement. If your care needs change, the village's state-of-the-art care centre with 76 rooms is right here, ensuring continuity of community and priority access for residents.

Your home

Living options

Independent & Assisted Living

Light, spacious homes designed with the 70-plus person in mind. Independent townhouses offer full autonomy; serviced apartments add housekeeping, chef-prepared meals, and personal support.

Townhouses
Serviced apartments (1-bedroom and studio options)
Ensuite rooms
Secure, lockable units
Lawns mowed, windows washed, mail collected while away
Living options
A day in the life

What living here is actually like

Community is central to life here.

Activities & Amenities

The village offers a rich calendar of organised entertainment, social outings, and activities designed to keep you active, connected, and entertained. Dine together, enjoy a movie night, or relax in tranquil spaces.

Community centre, library, cinema, computer room
Indoor heated swimming pool, spa pool, gym
All-weather bowling green, lawn bowls, petanque
Billiards, table tennis, cards & board games
Dining room, bar, café, hairdresser, beauty salon, village shop
Chapel, piano
Exercise classes, walking group, arts & crafts
Movie nights, bingo, quizzes, resident dinners, bar happy hours, church services, organised entertainment
Always something on
On your doorstep

Facilities & services

Community centre
Library
Cinema
Computer room
Indoor heated swimming pool
Spa pool
Gym
All-weather bowling green
Lawn bowls
Petanque court
Billiards/pool table
Table tennis
Dining room
Bar
Café
Hairdresser
Beauty salon
Village shop
Chapel
Piano
Arts & crafts room
Grand internal atrium
Peace of mind

Care for life, on site

If your health changes, you won't have to leave the place you know. Shona McFarlane Retirement Village offers these levels of care on site:

IndependentServicedRest homeHospital
✓ Registered nurse available for appointments · Doctor available for appointments · Emergency call system in units · In-home personal assistance (showering, grooming) · Meal deliveries
Care and community
Where it is

Setting & neighbourhood

Located on Mabey Road in Avalon, Lower Hutt, the village enjoys views of the Western Hills and sits close to the beautiful Hutt River. Avalon Park with its wide open spaces and scenic walking tracks is a short distance away, connecting to the Hutt River Trail for longer walks. The neighbourhood offers excellent access to local amenities: Queensgate Shopping Centre with over 140 stores, the Dowse Art Gallery for contemporary art and culture, and easy connections to parks and river walks. The village is set amongst beautifully landscaped gardens, creating a peaceful sanctuary while remaining well-connected to the wider community.

Interested?

Like the look of Shona McFarlane?

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Now the practical part

The money — what comes back to your family

You've seen why you'd love it. This is the part most families only discover at the exit statement — so we put it in plain sight. Every figure is from the village's own filed Disclosure Statement.

Capital Back score
51
Around average · #160 of 520
Better than 69% of NZ villages — yet the market median is just 46. The sector is tough.
Deferred fee
30%
charged on your entry price
Your share of capital gain
0%
operator keeps 100% of any uplift
Time to get capital back
~99.5 days
median, from 18 recent resales
Fees after you leave
Stop
good — many villages keep charging
Before you sign, get independent eyes on the contract.An ORA-review lawyer or independent financial adviser — never paid by any operator — checks what it really means for your family.
⚖ Get independent advice →
How the 51 is built

Nothing hidden — every component

The Capital Back score is a transparent weighting of five filed terms — you can see exactly where this village wins and loses.

Move-in fee you don't get back Deferred Management Fee — weighted 30%
30% deferred fee — lower is better.
25
Share of capital growth Capital gain to resident — weighted 15%
0% — the operator keeps any resale uplift.
0
Speed your capital returns Median resale time — weighted 30%
99.5 days across recent resales.
94
Fees stop when you leave Weekly fees on exit — weighted 15%
Charges end on vacancy.
100
Interest if repayment is slow Interest on delayed capital — weighted 10%
No interest on delayed repayment.
0
The filed terms, in plain English

What the Disclosure Statement actually says

Every operator uses different words for the same thing — we normalise them so you can compare like with like.

%

Deferred Management Fee

30%

Accrues over your first 2.5 years, charged on the entry price.

Market: median 30%; only 16% of villages charge under 25%.

Capital gain

0% to the resident

Any increase in the licence value at resale is kept entirely by the operator.

Market: just 8% of NZ villages share any capital gain.

How fast your capital comes back

~99.5 days median

Your capital is repaid once the unit is re-licensed to a new resident.

Market: median 154 days; 21 villages still average over a year.

Fees & interest on exit

Resident-friendly

Weekly fees stop when you vacate.

Market: 220 of 520 villages keep charging weekly fees after you've gone.
Before you sign the ORA

The reckoning usually arrives too late

  • You're buying a licence to occupy, not the home — you can't sell, rent or borrow against it.
  • A large deferred fee is gone within a few years, whatever the unit later sells for.
  • Your family carries the risk of how long resale takes — and the operator's ability to pay.
  • None of this is hidden — it's all in the Disclosure Statement most people sign without reading.
Have someone independent read it first

We'll connect you with a retirement-village review lawyer or independent financial adviser — no operator pays to be here.

Request an ORA review → Talk to a financial adviser