Demand for housing questioned
A MILTON homeowner has questioned the ‘‘high demand’’ for affordable housing in the Clutha district after struggling for months to sell her threebedroom property.
Aaron and Rebecca Mason put their Ajax St, Milton, home on the market in March, before listing it with Harcourts in June.
They originally had it listed for $129,000, but have had to shave $9000 off that price.
At $120,000, the house was just onethird of the median Dunedin house price, but they were yet to see a nibble.
Mr and Mrs Mason bought the house for $95,000 just over 11 years ago and have lived in it since with daughters Crystal (10) and Samantha (3).
The family had now set its sights on moving to Dunedin for their children’s education.
‘‘It’s a good house,’’ Mrs Mason said.
‘‘It’s not immaculate, but you can’t expect to get an immaculate house for $120K.’’
Clutha District Council Mayor Bryan Cadogan said, despite appearances, there remained a major housing shortage for people moving to the district.
‘‘Market forces are market forces . . . [this example] is almost totally detached from the challenges people face.’’
Mayor Cadogan said the ‘‘housing crisis’’ had evolved rapidly over the past three years, and the community was not wellenough aware of what was going on. Often those moving to the area were not in a position to buy a family home outright.
‘‘There is predominantly a desperate need for accommodation for individuals, and rentals.’’
Harcourts Otago general manager Kelvin Collins said demand fluctuated with different sectors of the market.
‘‘There’s plenty of very good buying for those looking for property under the $150,000 mark in the Clutha district.’’
However, at present, the majority of those looking to buy property wanted lowmaintenance homes around the $250,000$350,000 mark, he said.
‘‘Banks are more willing to lend money to buyers purchasing houses that are low maintenance.’’
Mr Collins said there was also increasing pressure on landlords to bring rentals to a high standard, due to the expansion in 2016 of the Ministry of Health ‘‘Healthy Home Initiative’’, driving up costs.
The average time for a house to be on the market in the Clutha district was 42 days, he said.
The Mason family home has been on the market for more than 120 days.
Mayor Cadogan said there was likely to be a further influx of new residents over the coming months thanks to the area’s main employer, Silver Fern Farms Finegand.
This was a positive for the community — albeit with implications.
‘‘The council believes it has a moral obligation to pursue all options to relieve this issue, and are presently working on the matter,’’ he said.
The Mason family said they would continue trying to sell their home as they were not in a financial position to allow someone to ‘‘rent to buy’’.
‘‘We just want to move on, and hope we can find someone to buy our house and enjoy it, and the area, like we have.’’ — Clutha Leader
❛ It’s a good house. It’s not immaculate, but you can’t expect to get an immaculate house for $120K