The Moorings Retirement Village
photos: operator / Village Guide
Retirement living · Whitianga, Thames Coromandel

The Moorings Retirement Village

Riversaint Villages Limited · Whitianga Waterways · independent living villas with Mercury Bay views
Life Score
59
Good
Capital Back
11
the money ↓
See what life here is like — then weigh what it means for your family further down.
The village

Life here

Nestled in Whitianga overlooking Mercury Bay, The Moorings is a brand-new retirement village offering a relaxed coastal lifestyle. Each two-bedroom villa combines modern comfort with easy access to the beach—simply cross the road for a walk along the shore or a paddle with the grandkids. The town centre is just minutes away, and you'll enjoy the summer sun on your patio or stay cool with heat pump air conditioning, all while being part of a vibrant community.

Your home

Living options

Villas

Two-bedroom villas designed for comfortable independent living with modern amenities and easy-access features.

Two bedrooms
Modern kitchen
Spacious bathroom with easy-access shower
Generous storage space
Internal-access garage
Heat pump/air conditioning
Patio
Living options
A day in the life

What living here is actually like

Life at The Moorings centres on community, relaxation, and staying connected.

Community & Activities

Enjoy barbecues and social outings with fellow residents, tend your own garden plot, relax in the communal lounge, or browse the library. The village van is available for outings, and meal deliveries can be arranged.

Barbecue area
Community centre
Garden plots
Communal lounge
Library
Social outings
Village van
Meal deliveries
Always something on
On your doorstep

Facilities & services

Barbecue area
Community centre
Garden plots
Communal lounge
Library
Village van
Peace of mind

Care for life, on site

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

Independent
✓ Registered nurse available for appointments · Emergency call system in units · 24-hour on-site staff
Care and community
Where it is

Setting & neighbourhood

The Moorings is located in Whitianga on the Coromandel Peninsula, overlooking Mercury Bay. The village sits within the Whitianga Waterways development, offering direct beach access—residents can walk across the road to the shore. The town centre is just a few minutes' drive away, providing easy access to shops, cafés, and local services.

Interested?

Like the look of The Moorings?

Get the brochure, current pricing and availability, or book a look around — sent straight to you. No pressure, and we'll never pass your details to the village without asking.

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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
11
Capital-unfriendly · #515 of 520
Better than 1% 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
not enough resales disclosed
Fees after you leave
Continue
charged until the unit resells
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 11 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
Fees stop when you leave Weekly fees on exit — weighted 15%
Fees continue until the unit resells.
0
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 3 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.
!

Fees & interest on exit

Watch this

Weekly fees continue until the unit resells.

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