NORTHLAKE DEVELOPER CHRIS MEEHAN RESPONDS
ASKED to respond to Mr Reid’s comments, Northlake developer Chris Meehan, who is chief executive of Winton said:
‘‘We were surprised by your email yesterday and that anyone could draw those conclusions on the Wanaka market — it is not what we have heard and is certainly not the case at Northlake, given:
Northlake has built and titled over 200 lots in the last two years, 150 of them have been or are being built on currently.
65 residential lots will be constructed this year — all but one of which are presold.
Where completed homes are being sold, they are achieving good prices — the Northlake Home series houses are consistently selling for approximately $800K and recently a Rocklands Court property sold for almost $1.2m.
Facilities including childcare, retail space and a bar/ restaurant to the tune of $10m have recently been completed at Northlake, again, by a national building company.
Any impressions of a cooling market are not being felt this side of Wanaka.
We agree compact housing at an achievable price point is what an increasing portion of the market demands — whether that be first home buyers or other buyers.
The range of housing product at Northlake is designed to provide purchasers with choice. Kiwibuild is part of that choice, and we are hopeful that a further streamlined process will lead to further sales.’’
A spokesman for KiwiBuild said:
‘‘The first 10 KiwiBuild homes in Wanaka have only just been completed and five of them have been sold already.
‘‘Families are moving in and we expect sales to continue.
‘‘Wanaka is a growing community that needs affordable housing.’’