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Olive Tree
photos: operator / Village Guide
Retirement living · Highbury, Palmerston North

Olive Tree

Olive Tree Village (2008) Limited · Highbury, Palmerston North · independent villas + serviced apartments + rest home & dementia care
Life Score
89
Exceptional
Capital Back
60
the money ↓
See what life here is like — then weigh what it means for your family further down.
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The village

Life here

Olive Tree sits in the leafy Highbury suburb, just a short drive from Palmerston North's city centre. Residents live among mature trees and manicured gardens—many tending their own flower beds or competing in the annual rose show. Whether you're enjoying lawn bowls on the green, a spa session, or a weekly community van outing, there's always a social occasion or activity to look forward to. The village's 'living a life with soul' philosophy means you can pursue meaningful hobbies, discover new interests, or simply enjoy the changing seasons from your own home.

Your home

Living options

Accommodation

Olive Tree offers a full range of living arrangements, from spacious independent villas to supported serviced apartments and full-time care rooms.

✓ Two- and three-bedroom villas with internal access garage, spacious bedrooms, ample storage, study and conservatory options
✓ One-bedroom serviced apartments in a range of sizes
✓ Studio apartments
✓ Rest home and dementia care rooms with en-suite facilities
✓ All units feature 24-hour emergency alarm systems
Living options
A day in the life

What living here is actually like

Life at Olive Tree revolves around connection, activity and wellbeing.

Activities & Community

The village hosts a rich calendar of social events, fitness programmes and creative pursuits. A community van runs weekly shopping trips and excursions, while on-site facilities support everything from gentle exercise to competitive bowls.

✓ Lawn bowls and bowling green
✓ Spa pool and indoor swimming pool
✓ Gym and supervised exercise programmes
✓ Movie sessions, music therapy and concerts
✓ Craft sessions, hobby room and residents' workshop
✓ Church services and happy hours
✓ Table tennis, croquet, petanque and mini golf
✓ Library, piano and dance floor
✓ Dining room with buffet breakfast
✓ Hair salon on-site
✓ Weekly van outings and shopping trips
Always something on
On your doorstep

Facilities & services

BBQ and entertaining area
Bowling green
Community centre
Croquet court
Cycling without age programme
Dance floor
Dining room
Gym and exercise equipment
Hair salon
Hobby room
Library
Lounge with large screen TV
Mini golf and putting area
Petanque court
Piano
Pool table
Residents' kitchen
Residents' workshop
Spa pool
Swimming pool
Table tennis
Community van for outings
Peace of mind

Care for life, on site

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

Independent→Serviced→Rest home→Hospital→Secure dementia
✓ Registered nurse available for appointments · Emergency call system in units · Hydrotherapy · Housekeeping · Personal laundry service
Care and community
Where it is

Setting & neighbourhood

Olive Tree is nestled in the suburban Highbury neighbourhood of Palmerston North, just a short drive from the city centre. The village is set among mature trees and beautifully landscaped grounds with extensive gardens, flower beds and vegetable gardens. Residents enjoy easy access to the wider Palmerston North community, with the village van providing regular shopping trips and social outings.

Interested?

Like the look of Olive Tree?

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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
60
Above average · #38 of 520
Better than 93% 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
~126 days
median, from 5 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 60 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%
126 days across recent resales.
90
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%
Interest is payable if capital is returned late.
100
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 4 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

~126 days median

Your capital is repaid once the unit is re-licensed to a new resident. (Operator-stated average: 107 days.)

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

Fees & interest on exit

Resident-friendly

Weekly fees stop when you vacate, and interest is payable if your capital is returned late.

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