Glimpse of first completed KiwiBuild home, ballot opens in a week

Phil Twyford has thrown open the doors and given the public its first glimpse inside the first completed KiwiBuild home.

The housing minister led media on a guided tour of the first batch of KiwiBuild’s “modest starter” homes at the McLennan development in Papakura today.

He confirmed the ballot will open for the first completed KiwiBuild properties in a week.

The 18 McLennan houses will be sold through the 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 four-bedroom homes selling for $649,000.

The Herald was invited for a sneak peak into one of the freshly painted three-bedroom family 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 build around you. It’s gone from maybe 50 houses to about 150 but we love it, it’s a really nice area.”

Entering the Kiwibuild show home through the side door, a spacious open-plan living and kitchen area looked out on to the fenced off back-yard.

Down the narrow hallway were two bedrooms on the left with a toilet and bathroom on the right. The master bedroom was at the end of the hallway looking out to the street.

The added decor – that did not come with the purchase of the house – transformed one bedroom into a kid’s jungle-themed abode and the other a comfortable guest bedroom.

“Families will be getting more than their money’s worth,” Twyford said.

“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 today.

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 Waikato, Taranaki, Auckland and Queenstown-Lakes area 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 homes by June 2021, Twyford said.

KiwiBuild eligibility

To ensure KiwiBuild homes go to the people they are intended for, applicants must:

• Be a first-time buyer or a “second-chancer” (someone who may have previously owned property but is now in a similar financial position to a first home buyer)

• Have an income of less than $120,000 for a single buyer, or no more than $180,000 for more than one purchaser

• A New Zealand citizen or permanent resident, or a resident visa holder who is ordinarily resident in New Zealand

• Intend to own and live in the home as their primary place of residence for at least three years