First KiwiBuild homes in the South Island will be at Wanaka

Property

KiwiBuild houses at Wanaka to be priced between $565,000 and $650,000

30th Sep 18, 1:00pm by Greg Ninness

The first KiwiBuild homes to be built in the South Island will be at Wanaka.

Housing Minister Phil Twyford says 211 KiwiBuild homes will be built over the next two years as part of the Northlake development, a master planned development of more than 800 homes on the outskirts of Wanaka township.

The ballot for the first 10 of the KiwiBuild homes to be built will open on October 8.

All 10 are standalone houses, four with two bedrooms and six with three bedrooms (pictured).

They will be priced from $565,000 to $650,000 and come with a 10 year Master Build guarantee and include features such as a Fisher & Paykel home appliance package.

"In August we raised the Home Start and Welcome Home Loan price caps for Queenstown Lakes to $650,000 for new builds, bringing them in line with KiwiBuild," Twyford said.

"Our Government is taking a comprehensive approach to assisting first home buyers in one of our least affordable areas."

Only eligible, pre-qualified buyers can enter the ballots for KiwiBuild homes.

Information about the ballot process is available on the KiwiBuild website.

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43 Comments

by THE MAN 2 | 30th Sep 18, 1:27pm 1538267231

Wanaka for KiwiBuilds?
You are kidding?
Who are the buyers for these?
Where is the work for them as the young ones won’t be putting down their roots in Wanaka!
I know negative, but think about it!
Lost the plot has Mr Twyford totally

by Zack Brando | 30th Sep 18, 2:31pm 1538271085

@ THE MAN 2

I agree with you 100% - this is totally ridiculous! Wanaka is where rich/elite Kiwi's buy homes and batches because they are too good for 'scummy Queenstown'. The biggest problem Wanaka has is people trying to paint their properties colours deemed unable to blend into the natural landscape and therefore are considered offensive and met with council opposition.

If this was social housing I could understand, maybe even worker accommodation, but they are not! These houses will sell for well over half a million dollars. Rich, Wanaka/Queenstown residents will endow their children with deposits to buy. This is 100% socialism for the richest in NZ society.

This is completely shameful, especially considering Christchurch reportedly has the highest homeless rate per population out of ANY city in the South Island and NZ for that matter!

Disgusting abuse of power, tax and KiwiBuild in general~!!! Shame~!!!

by accountingsoft… | 30th Sep 18, 4:33pm 1538278430

No no no… what we have here is a lovely PM , she was a president for world youth …. nothing wrong with that... and a Finance Minister who did foreign trade and social policy , not economics. This ploy here is to sprinkle the housing for the poor in and around the rich to make sure that are no rich all alone. Norway or Finland has a similar policy. Social demographic engineering on a grand scale. Start off slowly and then ring fence the rich with the poor... its a great idea,, give it chance....these houses are not for the poor. There are plently of houses for the poor already. The PM knows she had to get middle class new Zealand in houses so the poor can afford the houses vacated by the middle class. Or some thing.. some plan.. somewhere.. in some town... a plan..... some plan... any plan really.... just a plan.....someone get me a plan says the PM... I got us into power now someone come with the PLAN... one that works hopefully... OH.... nice houses...one that sell... that don't look poor … good idea ….good idea.. they look lovely,,,, now where is the baby bottle...oh … well Clarke... stop tweeting about CAGE fighting... for goodness sake... we are socialists...not spartans…. oh no Clarke not the AB's already....

by Nic Johnson | 1st Oct 18, 8:10am 1538334630

I'm not so sure.

Victorian England built tenement blocks near all the wealthy areas, look at Edinburgh, Kensington etc etc, Wealthy areas with cheap housing in a nearby suburb so that the peasants can 'cheaply' make it to their places of work to make the beds and clean the houses of the wealthy, turn out their bed pans in the morning and cook them their breakfast. These areas fall apart without the opportunity to have nearby slaves to mow the lawn and keep everything looking tidy. It's been going on for centuries. If your peasant plumber has to live 100km away, what happens is that your wealthy area quickly becomes unattractive for the truly wealthy because they can't access the labour they need to keep their charmed lifestyles maintained.

Another point... There is obviously demand in Wanaka or the prices would be lower. Don't get me wrong it's a nice place but it's no Whistler or Banff and if it wants to maintain its growth it's going to need a bigger local population to service the facilities and infrastructure for growth moving forward... Otherwise it dies in 10 years anyway.

Thirdly. If you are building a fixed price housing offering and want to maintain the project long term, as both profitable and supported then you need to make sure that you are building in areas where there is a a differential on price from your product to the market, that way profits made there can offset possible losses in markets where the price differential is narrowing between product and second hand offerings. Christchurch market is tight, prices already falling. Auckland prices are falling, yes it is where the demand is but if you end up with a market where you have a average land and build cost of $500k you need to make sure you get the 595k prices in some markets to offset the lower prices that may eventually occur in the larger markets where extra supply in a softening market will put pressure on margins.

Just think of it from the perspective of a builder.... Do you buy in a subdivision where there are already 1000 unsold houses? or do you land in a subdivision where all the new houses have sold and there is little in the secondary market?

by accountingsoft… | 1st Oct 18, 10:29am 1538342967

yes Nic , but honestly … they have better things to do at the moment and the wealthy will built small apartments in Wanaka to rent out to the young plumbers ….its called a market...if a plumber has to travel 100 kilometers to service the wealthy so be it.... they can afford it....

by accountingsoft… | 1st Oct 18, 10:46am 1538344003

putting the first kiwi build home in Wanaka is basically saying you the wealthy can no longer live in a gated community. The wealthy will just find another place to live. Its really England in the 1946, clement attlee stuff.

by Simon | 30th Sep 18, 2:55pm 1538272501

So the tax payer is effectively giving away 500k (assuming location land and build value in wanaka of 1 mill) of our hard earnt money so some already well off person living in one of NZs most beautiful and expensive places can get a million dollar house for half price???? It will be in airbnb immediately then after 3 years they'll sell it for a 600k profit - just because Phil doesn't understand economics and is used to being ripped off by all those millions of kiwis smarter than him shouldn't mean he should be representing the tax paying and having us loss out big time due to his incompetence

by bob cotton | 1st Oct 18, 6:18am 1538327884

.....our 'arderned' money...

by Nic Johnson | 1st Oct 18, 8:19am 1538335170

Was it that hard earned? or was it a credit bubble?

by THE MAN 2 | 30th Sep 18, 3:10pm 1538273450

The reality is that this Labour Led government is so totally out of their comfort zone it isn’t funny!
Mr Twyford as the Housing Minister is ridiculous as he has had no genuine business experience in his life.
He is from Oxfam and he would be far better suited to that than housing as it is all gifted money isn’t it and doesn’t have to answer to anyone.
Seriously Wanaka?
All he is trying to do is get his numbers up to somewhere around the 1000 mark by July and I can tell you now he hasn’t got a chance of doing that!
They should never be in power running the country and if anyone comes on and says that they are doing more than what National did, then you are not right in the head!!

by J.C. | 30th Sep 18, 4:37pm 1538278665

They should never be in power running the country and if anyone comes on and says that they are doing more than what National did, then you are not right in the head!!

What if I say "National did more that than the Coalition". No reasons or evidence. Just thoese 7 simple words. Shoul be enough to get me an A-grade mark on the exam, right?

by BadRobot | 30th Sep 18, 6:41pm 1538286067

Barking at passing cars again I see....

by saving4AUhouse | 30th Sep 18, 7:38pm 1538289535

What's this? Not only is THEM AN 2 using full, long sentences, he's also talking sense!

Has your account been hacked?

by THE MAN 2 | 1st Oct 18, 3:52am 1538319163

Bullet points are read easier than sentences, and more powerful!!!

by Pragmatist | 30th Sep 18, 3:20pm 1538274018

Sitting beside Sydney Harbour with a craft beer, fush'n'chups on the way, and serenaded by the indignant squeals of landlords and right wingers. Life is truly wonderful.

by THE MAN 2 | 30th Sep 18, 3:49pm 1538275753

Got absolutely nothing to do with landlords.
It is about the competency of our politicians or should I say incompetency?
They will be turned in Air BnB if they can

by J.C. | 30th Sep 18, 4:33pm 1538278419

What about a trailer park in Cromwell and bus the peasants in when they're needed?

by Nic Johnson | 30th Sep 18, 4:28pm 1538278089

Probably not an ideal situation for those that are heavily geared into the Wanaka market, particularly short to medium term and is it is here that the biggest undermining of prices will occur. However the reality of the situation is that will Wanaka be worth living in or visiting if there are no workers able to afford to live there to serve the retirees and tourists. It's one of the most ludicrously priced markets in the country so this will probably help to ease things. Mr Twyfordl should look to increase the numbers 4 fold though to have a genuine impact for the long term sustainability of the area. From a kiwibuild perspective it makes sense to build where there is the highest margin of protection (of shortage) as that will help compensate for losses that kiwibuild may make in the falling markets in other parts of the country.

I'm also happy to support anything that gets TM" screeching in a high pitched voice as if he thinks its a bad idea then it's obviously a very good one. Far more sensible to build kiwibuild in Wanaka than Christchurch where the supply of new builds and subdivisions is already sticky.. Build into a hot market not a crap one and spare the tax payer too many loses in the correction

by accountingsoft… | 30th Sep 18, 4:54pm 1538279692

Like I said above, nice idea in concept... but really it wont go down well.... they need the houses in other places.. There is no need for houses for the poor there at all, there at all..They are desperate to get houses in places thet most need them. and the high prices for property is a world wide problem the result of 10 years of low interest rates. Its a world wide problem for most developed countries. he cant increase housing for Wanaka 4 fold....

by Pragmatist | 30th Sep 18, 7:52pm 1538290376

They aren't houses for the poor, they are houses for middle income (at worst) NZers. Poor people can't service a $500k mortgage.

by accountingsoft… | 1st Oct 18, 10:31am 1538343092

agreed!

by THE MAN 2 | 1st Oct 18, 3:56am 1538319394

Nic stop supporting a losing cause.
You are right we don’t need shoebox housing in Chch as no need or desire for it.
Twyford has not got the ability to run the housing portfolio.
He grabs hold of any development already in the pipeline and chucks in KiwiBuild

by oreo | 30th Sep 18, 5:30pm 1538281835

The government next step?
https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2018-09-28/officials-promise-dirty-money…

by Zack Brando | 30th Sep 18, 7:08pm 1538287706

These homes are only just the beginning for Wanaka - they are part of an 800 home development called Northlake~!!

Reason given; 'we need housing for hospitality workers' - as if hospitality workers can afford to buy a $600,000+ home~!! Talk about pissing into the wind~!! Oh wait, I suppose the children of multi-millionaires need somewhere to live while working their summer hospitality job mummy and daddy said they had to get ..

How many of these homes will have a boat up the driveway after purchase?

by Pragmatist | 30th Sep 18, 7:22pm 1538288579

You need the right wing mindset.. hospital workers are never supposed to be able to buy.. they are destined to be debt serfs to the people they serve. Work a 12hr shift then go home and pay 50% of your income back to the landlord

by saving4AUhouse | 30th Sep 18, 7:37pm 1538289421

This is a solidly left wing country that has been ruled by social democrats for decades, yet you still somehow think the "right wing" is to blame for all the ills that befall society.

Follow a logical line of reasoning. The hospital worker spends half their pay on rent, because rent is expensive, because housing can't keep up with demand, because the countries population is rapidly growing, because immigration is high, because the state desperately needs more tax revenue, because it spends a fortune on social welfare - mainly on pensioners.

The other part of is that salaries are taxed highly to help fund this pensioner ponzi scheme. Not to mention the ludicrous GST on everything, including food.

It's a solid predictable failure of decades of socialist, left-wing policies.

by sadr001 | 30th Sep 18, 7:40pm 1538289605

Shhhh, don't let them know that our "Far Right" is considered the center left by people in stronger economies ( like Singapore or Hong Kong).

by Zack Brando | 30th Sep 18, 7:57pm 1538290666

Many areas of Hong Kong are unsanitary and therefore it's a health crisis waiting to happen .. saying that, NZ has a health crisis playing out now -- mainly caused by poverty which has begotten obesity, poor housing conditions and children being repeatedly hospitalized.

by Pragmatist | 30th Sep 18, 8:01pm 1538290916

Incorrect, I don't like either side. I just enjoy the right-wingers screeching.

It's as much because of right wing policy as it left wing policy. It was labour that created and started funding the Cullen fund to try (too little, too late) to alleviate the superannuation cost problem, and National that stopped paying into it, refused to adjust the age of eligibility or means test it. Both sides are incompetent. One over regulates and overspends, the other under regulates, and over spends, and claims to be about personal responsibility. But really isn't.

by saving4AUhouse | 30th Sep 18, 8:43pm 1538293396

I was unaware that we even had a viable 'other side' in NZ politics, nor was I aware that National - who raised our GST - were fiscally conservative. I can't think of a mainstream party in NZ politics that isn't a spend happy centre left party. Even ACT only want to raise it to 67. You rightly point out that National are just as bad - if not worse - than labour when it comes to the pension.

by Withay | 30th Sep 18, 9:37pm 1538296652

On the pension, no one wants to propose anything over 67 or radically different as they will get a backlash from a large section of voters and interest parties. I bet many understand the problem but are too hamstrung by wanting to get into power to actually do anything about it.

by RickStrauss | 1st Oct 18, 11:00am 1538344824

Along with that, NZ stopped funding efforts to making housing affordable and accessible to average Kiwis (finishing off in the 1990s the final traces of the various earlier efforts) and began to ramp up fees for students, all so those who received both affordable housing, free education - and now / soon - the pension regardless of need could pay lower taxes in the meantime. As was highlighted in an earlier column on Interest, effectively making the generation concerned net-negative contributors to society (i.e. a net drain).

by Nzdan | 30th Sep 18, 7:13pm 1538287985

I get the feeling that the Kiwi-build locality selection process is being done by a Drunken Sailor in Cook Strait throwing darts at a map of New Zealand.

by Pragmatist | 30th Sep 18, 7:17pm 1538288222

Probably more Phil Twatford jumping at any opportunity to get numbers up. If they can swing the deal they'll go for it.

by Casual Observer | 1st Oct 18, 12:52am 1538308324

How many of you commentating live in Wanaka ......I thought not. There is a real shortage of affordable housing for young kiwi families in the Wanaka, Queenstown, Cromwell area. Wanaka is one of the fastest growing areas in the country. Three Parks subdivision on the south side of Wanaka, will provide around 1000 residential sections, a 2nd secondary school and a retail park.

by Zoltuger | 1st Oct 18, 4:26pm 1538364382

I had to scroll half way down the comments to find someone rational.

You need to live in a Kiwibuild home to qualify. Clearly this would exclude "children of rich parents" using it as a holiday home.

by THE MAN 2 | 1st Oct 18, 4:05am 1538319913

Casual Observer, I was not aware that Wanaka was Queenstown?????
Why not Ikamatua or Arthur’s Pass or Reefton????

by The best statu… | 1st Oct 18, 6:21am 1538328071

Rick lister kids don't want to move there. Reefton is like Siberia, every one knows where it is but no one wants to go there.

by THE MAN 2 | 1st Oct 18, 8:59am 1538337578

Yeah but it will get the no.s up for Mr Twyfords KiwiBuilds!

by mfd | 1st Oct 18, 9:54am 1538340874

The point in kiwibuild is to "stabilise" (noone wants to say reduce) prices in expensive areas. There's no need for the government to step in where prices are already reasonable.

by Matt73 | 1st Oct 18, 10:34am 1538343265

This is great, I will be signing up for one of these, It will be great to buy the batch first!

by waymad | 1st Oct 18, 11:09am 1538345387

I look forward to the coming announcement of a Wanaka-Queenstown electric tram, to convey them Woikers to their hospo jobs in the Jewel of the South. Sure, I know, there's a Big Hill in between, but let's not let mere Engineering Quibbles get in the way. Because Public Transport!

by Nzdan | 1st Oct 18, 12:16pm 1538349371

It'll be user pays and there'll be a targeted rate as well. It'll be extremely unreliable and lack any real air conditioning (freezing in winter and a scorcher in summer). Top speed of around 20 km/h which will make for a 6 hour daily commute, but they should be grateful they have a roof over their head.