Curious about cohousing?
Joining a Circle Living neighbourhood happens in stages. Each one is a chance to learn more, meet people and decide whether cohousing is right for you. You don’t commit to buying a home until stage four.
Each stage in detail
Register your interest
Cost: Free
Commitment: None
Time: About a minute
Tell us a little about yourself, why cohousing appeals and which neighbourhoods you’re interested in. Registering puts you on the list for updates, and it helps show that a neighbourhood has enough interest to go ahead.
What you’ll get
First news about new neighbourhoods
Invitations to our Open Hour and to community socials
Information about the Founding Circle, and an invitation to join
Come to an info session
Cost: Free
Commitment: None
Time: About an hour, online
Open Hour is our free online information session: an introduction to cohousing and Circle Living neighbourhoods, followed by questions from people weighing up whether this way of living is right for them. Can’t make it live? Watch the recording in your own time.
Other ways to find out more
Come along to a community social and meet potential future neighbours
Book a free 30-minute call with our team to talk through your questions
Read stories from people already living in a Circle Living neighbourhood
Watch the Open Hour · Book a 30-min call
Join the Founding Circle
Cost: One-off $500 incl GST, with payment plans available
Commitment: Doesn’t commit you to buying a home
Time: Six meetings a year, plus workshops in your own time
The Founding Circle is a group of future neighbours who come together through a structured community-building process. It’s where you find out whether a neighbourhood is right for you, get to know the people you’d live alongside, and learn the skills to run the community together.
As a member, you’ll
Join three online project updates a year, with early access to key information
Spend three full days a year together at in-person hui in your city
Watch cohousing workshops in your own time, such as how to make decisions together with sociocracy and body corporate basics
Give feedback that shapes site selection and design
Get first option to reserve a home
Reserve your home
Cost: A $10,000 commitment to reserve
Commitment: This is where you commit to a home
When: Once pre-sales open
Once you’ve got to know your neighbours and pre-sales open, Founding Circle members get first option to reserve a home. A neighbourhood goes ahead once enough homes are reserved.
Your $10,000 commitment isn’t an extra cost. It comes off the price of your home. Reserving tells us you’re serious about joining, and that gives our team the confidence to put the time and energy into finishing your neighbourhood. See how the costs work
Sign your sale and purchase agreement
Cost: 10% deposit
Commitment: This is where you commit to buying a home
When: Once sales open
Before we ask you to sign a sale and purchase agreement, you’ll know which home type you’re buying, its fixed price and who your community will be.
When you sign the sale and purchase agreement, you pay a 10% deposit. It’s kept safe in a lawyer’s trust account until your home is finished and you get the keys. Each home has its own title, so you can get a normal mortgage from a mainstream bank.
Move in with friends
Ongoing costs: Body corporate levies of about $5,000–$6,000 a year
Timeline: Each neighbourhood page shows its own
Follow progress with regular updates the whole way through the build. Then move into a warm, dry, healthy home alongside your new friends.
Your home is yours: you can mortgage it, leave it to family or sell it like any other property. Levies cover building insurance, exterior maintenance and upkeep of shared land and buildings. Personal rates and power are billed separately.