Despite getting more free advertising than just about any other property sale in the country, the highly-publicised first round of KiwiBuild Wanaka drew in just 20 ballot entries before its original deadline of November 8.

A KiwiBuild representative put a positive spin on the number of ballot entries when contacted by the Wanaka App: “A lower number of ballot entries for a given KiwiBuild home is good news for anyone interested in buying that home,” the representative said. “We don’t want people to rush in and be disappointed in heavily oversubscribed ballots.”

The news that the government’s new “affordable housing” programme was coming to Wanaka was announced in late September by the minister for housing and urban development Phil Twyford, who said 211 Kiwibuild homes would be built in Wanaka over the next two years.

Ten buyers would be in their new homes by Christmas, if they were lucky enough to have their ballot drawn, and the remaining houses would be built in batches of 20 starting next year.

But the developers have since requested to extend the ballot entry time to November 18, with Kiwibuild admitting some of the homes hadn’t received a single ballot entry before the original closing date.

The houses range in price from $575,000 (2 bed, 1 bath) to $645,000 (3 bed, 1 bath). The largest floor size will be 99m2, with sections of no more than 304m2.

To be eligible for one of these Kiwibuild homes a single person must earn less that $120,000, and a couple less than $180,000, but they must have enough income and savings to fund their deposit and mortgage repayments.

Is cost the reason there have been so few entries?

Queenstown Lakes Community Housing Trust executive officer Julie Scott works to create affordable housing for residents in the notoriously expensive district. Julie said there were 586 families on the waiting list for an affordable home in the district, 20 percent of whom are Wanaka-based.

The trust has used various housing models to help families into homes over the years, and is now focusing on ‘Secure Home’. “Here households will buy into a leasehold structure where the price of the property is the amount it cost us to build the home [exclusive of land].”

Julie is sceptical of the affordability of the Kiwibuild homes here in Wanaka.

“I believe the Kiwibuild prices are on par with similar products already on the market, but don’t see how they provide any further level of affordability just by being deemed ‘Kiwibuild’.”

Kiwibuild representatives did not respond to specific questions about whether or not the remaining 191 houses will be built here if demand remains low, or to a question asking about how price and market demand were researched, except to say “All KiwiBuild developments under the ITP [invitation to participate] programme go through an extensive assessment process before being finalised”.

When Phil Twyford first announced KiwiBuild in Wanaka, he said: "The Queenstown-Lakes district has been absolutely hammered by the housing crisis… [and] we want to give young, first-home buyers a crack at affordable home ownership and currently they’re locked out."

Considering the number of ballot entries for the Kiwibuild homes announced so far, it’s conceivable the government may have failed to have taken into account the price-point for affordability.

PHOTO: Wanaka App