Only seven Wanaka KiwiBuild homes sell from ballot

Friday, 23 November 2018

The doors open on KiwiBuild's first homes to be completed.

Only seven of 10 KiwiBuild homes in Wanaka have sold.

The development has been controversial - the ballot deadline was extended because only 20 applications had been received.

Now it has been revealed that only seven sales will proceed.

The homes are in a subdivision called Northlake. The four two-bedroom and six three-bedroom homes are standalone houses priced between $565,000 and $650,000.

* Government extends KiwiBuild ballot deadline in Wanaka after just 20 entries for 10 homes

* You don't get dream homes from delusional planning**

They will be ready by Christmas.

A total of 211 KiwiBuild homes will be built in the subdivision over the next two years.

'There were ballot entries for all 10 homes at Wanaka. One applicant won another ballot drawn the same day, and two ballot winners have chosen not to buy a home. Families are in the process of buying seven homes,' a KiwiBuild spokesman said.

'The extension of the ballot period resulted in more people entering the ballot. As a result, we now have more families in the process of buying their first home. As with any housing development, it is not expected that every house will sell off the plans.

'Our experience from the early ballots is showing that, while some people are keen to get in early and buy before the home is completed, most want to wait to see the completed home. The remaining three Wanaka homes, and other homes that do not sell off the plans, will be sold to KiwiBuild buyers after they are complete.'

He said there were 50 families around the country who had bought or were in the process of buying a KiwiBuild home.

Economist Gareth Kiernan said the lack of demand for the properties reflected their price.

'Yes, they're cheaper than your average house in Wanaka, but still not really in the realms of 'affordable' for first-home buyers who have been 'locked out' of the housing market. I'm increasingly of the view that high land prices are the primary cause of the housing affordability problem.

'The government's approach, to date, of backing the construction of smaller, lower-spec houses makes minimal difference to affordability, because the construction component of the package is not really the issue.'

He said it was more intensive housing developments, reducing the amount of land accompanying each dwelling, that made housing more achievable.

'But [this is] unlikely to be a palatable option to most potential buyers except in Auckland. I've seen little evidence that the government knows how to address the land supply issues that have contributed to the surge in house prices.'