Who will hit a home run?

Couples earning up to $180,000 a year will be allowed to buy affordable KiwiBuild homes – as long as they live in them for at least three years.

The Government is unveiling today who will be eligible to buy one of the 100,000 affordable KiwiBuild homes it is hoping to build over the next 10 years. Documents released to Stuff show the criteria will include an income test – but one that will still allow 92 per cent of first-home buyers to get into the scheme.

The income test is $120,000 for a sole buyer or $180,000 for a couple. Citizens and New Zealand residents will be eligible.

The homes will be available to all first-home buyers and most ‘‘second-chancers’’ – usually people who go through a divorce and have lost property. Secondchancers must not have assets exceeding $120,000 in Auckland,

$100,000 in most other cities, or

$80,000 for the rest of New Zealand.

First-home buyers will not be subject to a financial asset test.

The relatively high income cap will make 92 per cent of firsthome buyers eligible, documentation from Housing Minister Phil Twyford’s office shows.

Those who buy a home will need to live in it for at least three years without selling it, but will be able to have paying flatmates.

Some purchasers will be able to sell the home within three years if special circumstances such as a death or serious illness occur – but they will need to apply for permission from the Government, who will consider it case by case.

For the first years of the scheme the homes will be balloted, meaning every eligible buyer who enters will have an equal chance of buying one.

Potential buyers can register their interest online but will have to go through an eligibility check to enter the ballot.

The income bracket is substantially higher than the one for the HomeStart grant, which cuts off at

$130,000 for couples and

$80,000 for single buyers. Twyford said plenty of people earning close to the limit struggle to buy homes in high-cost areas. ‘‘We know that New Zealanders at and below these incomes are struggling to buy a home, especially in high-demand areas such as Auckland and Queenstown,’’ Twyford said.

‘‘For instance, a couple of teachers may have a combined income of between $150,000 and

$170,000. For a nurse and police officer earning upwards of

$120,000, and for an engineer living alone, $90,000.

‘‘A decade ago these families would have been able to afford a home, but they are now locked out of the market.’’

Twyford had earlier indicated he would not be keen to introduce income caps for the scheme.

Documentation released by his office shows that households in the $80,000-$180,000 range have experienced the largest decline in homeownership over the past decade – and that nearly half of all families with children fall into that category.