KiwiBuild’s problem in paradise
indistinguishable from the KiwiBuild homes are being squeezed in and sold for more than $600,000 for a three-bedroom home.
The problem facing KiwiBuild Wanaka is summed up by promotional material, which to certain eyes, looks like a cruel joke.
An artist’s impression of a two-bedroom, 70 square metre KiwiBuild duplex (a house joined to the one next door) home, costing $565,000, has a late-model SUV sitting in the driveway.
Who exactly does Housing Minister Phil Twyford think will buy these houses? They look like they were designed for yuppies on ski holidays, not struggling families.
KiwiBuild has faced mocking criticism for allowing individuals with incomes of up to $120,000 or couples with combined incomes of $180,000 to sign up. That net will capture plenty of people in Auckland and Wellington.
But the issue in Wanaka is that apart from building, there is virtually no industry to speak of other than tourism, with its relatively modest salaries. What holds up the house prices is, in large part, retirement, not high-paying jobs.
Salaries of $100,000 are few and far between for those who do not bring their jobs with them when they move there.
It is not as if Wanaka does not have a problem which needs solving.
As well as retired farmers and cashed-up Aucklanders relocating, an apparently significant source of demand for houses is local business owners buying them to rent to their employees at below-market prices. Otherwise the staff quickly leave in frustration.
Far from being able to buy a house, many of the workers of Wanaka struggle to rent there.
Rebranding a bunch of houses and selling them at a similar price to what is available anyway nearby will not fix the problem.