New Kiwi show Slice of Paradise tackling housing market niggles

Peter Wolfkamp and Shelley Ferguson
Peter Wolfkamp and Shelley Ferguson are helping Kiwis tackle the housing market. Photo credit: Mediaworks

If you're mourning the end of The Block NZ, a new property show is coming to screens that will fufill your housing market needs.

The eight-part series is going to be a kind of Kiwi Location Location Location, with Block alumni Shelley Ferguson and Peter Wolfkamp taking the roles of the beloved screen regulars Kirstie and Phil.

The show will track the journey of New Zealanders as they try to enter the local property market, with Ferguson and Wolfkamp working with prospective buyers and ultimately competing with each other to find the property best suited to their needs.

Host Shelley Ferguson told Newshub Slice of Paradise tackles the "hot topic" of housing, as Kiwis still love the idea of owning property but are having to manage the grind of getting into the market. 

"Looking for a house, it's like a full time job," she said.

"People who have been looking for a year or two have lost confidence. You look at properties for sale, go through the papers, and then you miss out at auction. It's easy to get disheartened.

"On the show I tell people; 'you have to be ready to jump'."

Ferguson said that for many Kiwis, the age of the Kiwi dream home, with the picket fence and 2.5 kids, is over. 

"The quarter acre dream is out of reach for so many people. There are options  you may just have to start in a different way; an apartment maybe, or a tiny house, or buying further out.

"Buyers have to reprioritize. You cannot have all the things you want."

This is a lesson Ferguson said she learnt the hard way, practicing what she preaches in "stepping your way to the house you want".

"I'm 37 and I started off with a house I didn't like very much," she said.

"I went through four houses, chipping away and adding little bits of value where I could. You have to remember it's not a forever home - get in for two or three years and work at it".

Although you may think hosting a show with someone you've just spent three months with on site is wearying, Ferguson said she "loved" working with Wolfkamp again - although there were times the two had different ideas. 

"He's so lovely he's difficult to clash with, but we did have different ways of approaching property. I like to think about how I could add value once I walk in, a lick of paint here and there, taking a really good look at it.

"[Wolfkamp] would say instead 'oh you could build this or renovate this'. But we'd bounce off each other, I think they're complimentary skills rather than competitive."

Slice of Paradise screens on THREE on Wednesdays at 7.30pm from September 20.

Newshub.