Doors open for ‘Kiwibuilders’
Aspiring homeowners can now register to be ‘‘pre-qualified’’ for Kiwibuild homes.
This means people can check whether they are eligible for an affordable Kiwibuild home before actually going into a ballot to try to buy one.
The Government’s Kiwibuild scheme aims to build 100,000 affordable homes over 10 years, with 1000 finished by July 2019.
Each buyer must meet a set of qualifications and have a bank ready to loan them the money before entering a ballot for the available homes in each area.
Potential buyers must be permanent Kiwi residents or citizens, earn under $120,000 a year if buying alone or $180,00 in a couple, and must either be firsthome buyers or ‘‘second chancers’’ who have a low level of assets left after a divorce or other financial hit.
Buyers must also intend to live in the home as their main place of residence for at least three years – not renting it out or selling it on.
To gain pre-qualification, potential buyers must provide proof of residency, proof of income, a notarised statutory declaration that they intend to live in the home for three years, and financial pre-approval from a bank or other mortgage lender.
Buyers who pre-qualify will be eligible to enter the ballot for the first set of homes in Papakura, Auckland.
Yesterday, Housing Minister Phil Twyford said keen buyers didn’t need to worry about getting pre-qualified right away, as there would be at least six weeks for people to pre-qualify before the first ballot was drawn in October.
‘‘First-time buyers and second chancers will be given plenty of notice about homes that are coming on the market so there is no rush to pre-qualify,’’ Twyford said.
‘‘But this is a great opportunity for people to familiarise themselves with the Kiwibuild system and seek trusted, professional advice before entering a ballot to buy their first home.’’
Kiwibuild head Stephen Barclay said that while the homes were affordable, buying one was still a major financial decision.
‘‘Purchasing a home is one of the biggest financial decisions most people will ever make ... people need to carefully consider if home ownership is a commitment they are ready to make,’’ Barclay said.
Kiwibank immediately seized on the news to announce a special offer – a 10 per cent deposit mortgage for most customers and $2000 of legal or moving fees wiped.
‘‘There is an expectation that, as the largest New Zealand-owned bank, we help as many first-home buyers as we can,’’ Kiwibank’s Mark Wilkshire said.
‘‘Kiwibuild has potential to be a game changer for the residential housing sector and we are keen, as always, to make a positive difference for our customers and the New Zealand economy.’’
Other major banks have been asked for comment.
National has criticised the Kiwibuild scheme, alleging it wouldn’t deliver enough houses, that the homes are too expensive, and that it would suck capacity out of the private market.
Twyford was forced to up the maximum cost for three-bedroom homes in Auckland and Queenstown after coming to Government. The policy was originally designed with a maximum price of $600,000, but this has been pushed up to $650,000 for that subset of homes.
Two-bedroom homes in Auckland and Queenstown will be capped at $600,000, while homes in every other part of the country will cost $500,000 or less.