A major reshuffle of Kiwibuild announced on Wednesday (September 4) means the homes already built in Wanaka will soon be available on the open market, and the future of the nearly 200 yet-to-be-built is up in the air. 

There are ten completed Kiwibuild homes in Wanaka, with three of these still for sale and 20 more terraced homes partially built. 

Speaking of the unsold properties in Wanaka, as well as those in Te Kauwhata and Canterbury, housing minister Megan Woods said: “They’re not well suited to new home buyers but we do know there is demand for these properties when they are opened up to all buyers.”

Megan said the target number of builds had led to “perverse outcomes” for Kiwibuild, where housing was being built without the demand to justify it. The admission of low demand for Kiwibuild is a major U-turn for the Labour government. 

Waitaki MP Jacqui Dean called the switch to open market sale for the Wanaka homes a “buyers free for all”, adding it would be “mum and dad taxpayers picking up the tab”.

National MP Judith Collins also criticised the cost for taxpayers, saying: “For months I questioned whether the Government had robust processes in place to ensure houses were being built where there was need... Labour has finally figured out it should be building houses where people want them, not just wherever developers have spare land.”

When the Wanaka App enquired with Kiwibuild about whether the 181 more homes it had underwritten for Northlake would still be built, responses were noncommittal. “We’re currently working on the details about how we operationalise yesterday’s announcement with the developer,” the representative said. 

Despite the criticism, the reset is providing big changes, and many of these have been applauded. It includes shared ownership schemes, reducing the deposit required for Kiwibuild homes and allowing family and friends to help with house deposits.

The Queenstown Lakes Central Housing Trust (QLCHT) said yesterday (Thursday September 5) it welcomes the government’s reset, saying it’s a positive step forward for thousands of low-to-moderate income New Zealanders.

The Kiwibuild reset includes a $400m progressive home ownership scheme for up to 4,000 families, and a general move for increased support for first-home buyers, QLCHT chair Julie Scott said. She said the trust’s innovative Secure Home programme, launched earlier this year, is an example of a progressive home ownership model that the government could support. 

“With previous government assistance for progressive home ownership, we helped more than 100 households into their own homes over a ten-year period,” Julie said. “It’s really exciting to see government once again backing alternative home ownership models.”

Read more about the changes to Kiwibuild here.

PHOTO: Wanaka App