Affordable homes no one wants
Six new affordable KiwiBuild houses in Wanaka remain unsold despite being marketed since October for just $565,000 to $635,000. Homes are being advertised in the alpine settlement and its subdivision Northlake is being developed by private capital specialists Winton. Real Estate Institute figures put Wanaka’s median sale price at $865,000 but the latest Quotable Value data puts the Queenstown Lakes District, which includes Wanaka, at an average $1.18m value, up 1.1 per cent in the latest three months. KiwiBuild says eight homes are under construction at Northlake and seven have been completed. “Some homes are ready now and the remainder will be completed in early 2019,” KiwiBuild’s website says. A three-bedroom home at 41 Glen Dene Cres advertised for $630,000 has sold, along with a two-bedroom place at 47 Glen Dene Cres advertised at $575,000, a twobedroom home at 49 Glen Dene Cres at $565,000, and a three-bedroom 16 Mt Burke St for $650,000. Prospective buyers of the other six homes on Mt Burke St, Mount Linton Ave, Merivale Ave and Glen Dene Cres are being asked to visit a show home or contact sales agent Scott McCoun of Bayleys Wanaka. Clint Smith, a KiwiBuild spokesman said: “As with all property sales, some of the time purchases don’t end up being completed.” But for privacy reasons, he declined to say why sales did not go ahead. The 10 homes were initially offered in a ballot but did not sell. All up, more than 800 new places are being developed at Northlake, a few minutes’ drive from Wanaka’s town centre. The subdivision has shops, a playground and recreation areas, offices and dining outlets. The 10 KiwiBuild homes are by Winton, a privately-owned developer with projects here and in Australia and headed by Chris Meehan. “Northlake is one of Wanaka’s top residential developments, well located close to the town centre, schools, Lake Wanaka, the Clutha River and all the recreational opportunities that they bring,” the company says. Meehan said he had been pleased to see Northlake residents using an onsite tennis court, installed in 2017. The main village is off Outlet Rd. Northlake Dr is the main entrance into the Northlake Village Centre, with secondary access via Mount Linton Ave and Northburn Rd. A Bayleys agent selling Northlake homes said threebedroom, non-KiwiBuild homes sold in the subdivision for around $750,000, and nonKiwiBuild four-bedroom homes for around $900,000. Sections went from around $280,000 to $350,000. The Government’s flagship policy initially aimed to build 100,000 high-quality affordable homes in 10 years, with 1000 delivered in its inaugural year which finishes on July 1, 2019. Progress so far on KiwiBuild’s website says only 47 homes have been completed, leaving 953 to rise in the remaining months. Housing and Urban Development Minister Phil Twyford “has acknowledged first year targets won’t be met and said the programme needs to be recalibrated to build homes faster”, a spokesperson from his office said. Bayleys’ McGoun would not say how long he had been marketing the KiwiBuild homes in the subdivision. Sonya Fynmore of Winton said the six unsold homes were no longer in the KiwiBuild ballot system. Bindi Norwell, REINZ chief executive, last month called for new KiwiBuild targets. “We understand the target of building 100,000 homes in 10 years hasn’t changed, but we are calling on the minister to instead announce a new target to be achieved ahead of next year’s election,” she said. “With any large project it’s essential that milestones and targets are set along the way in order to measure progress, but also to break the project down into more manageable deliverables.”