Ballot about to begin
The ballot will open for the first completed KiwiBuild homes in a week, Housing Minister Phil Twyford has announced.
Sticking to deadline, Twyford yesterday unveiled the first batch of KiwiBuild’s “modest starter” homes at Papakura’s McLennan development.
The 18 houses will be sold through a ballot which runs for four weeks and opens on September 10.
The stand-alone dwellings are made up of 12 three-bedroom homes selling for $579,000 and six fourbedroom homes selling for $649,000.
The Herald was invited for a sneak peek into one of the freshly painted three-bedroom homes up for grabs.
Greeted by friendly neighbours Jos and Anna Laurent, first impressions were warm and welcoming — despite the weather.
The Laurents moved opposite the KiwiBuild strip a year and a half ago and already have become a part of the “tight-knit community”.
“It’s weird having a suburb being built around you. It’s gone from maybe 50 houses to about 150 but we love it, it’s a really nice area.”
Entering through the side door, a spacious open-plan living and kitchen area looked out on to the fenced-off backyard.
Down the hallway there were two bedrooms on the left, a toilet and bathroom on the right, with the master bedroom at the end.
Added decor — that did not come with the house — gave one bedroom a kid’s jungle theme, and set the other up comfortably for guests.
“A further 12 properties are under construction at the McLennan development and will be completed before Christmas, including seven terraced two-bedroom homes and five four-bedroom homes,” Twyford said yesterday.
Anyone considering entering the ballot should get a thorough understanding of the property first and should visit the show home when it opens on September 8, he said.
Twyford also announced that another 58 KiwiBuild houses, mostly three-bedroom, would be built at the McLennan site next year.
And he will be unveiling details of more KiwiBuild developments in the Waikato, Taranaki, Auckland and Queenstown-Lakes areas in coming weeks.
KiwiBuild was on track to build 1000 homes in the first year, ramping up to 5000 homes by June 2020 and 10,000 by June 2021, Twyford said.