OPEN HOMES: Housing New Zealand sold 52 houses by April 14 and has another 30 for sale.
A Government scheme for first-home buyers has sold 52 former state homes – but critics question whether it is anything more than a fig leaf to distract from the increasingly out-of-reach housing market.
The FirstHome policy, announced in October, saw surplus and empty state homes offered for sale to a waiting list of first-home buyers, who were also given 10 per cent of the value towards a mortgage.
The properties are mainly in regional towns, such as Levin and Otorohanga.
Housing New Zealand said 52 houses had sold by April 14 and another 30 were listed for sale.
Sales have been limited in geographic spread: most have sold in Manawatu, Hawke’s Bay, Waikato and Otago- Southland, with just a handful of sales elsewhere.
Housing Minister Nick Smith is overseas and unavailable for comment. However, a spokesperson said variation in demand was not unexpected. “The feedback from buyers has been very positive. There has been variation in the uptake across regions but . . . this is a reflection of the demands respective to each area.”
Last week it was revealed that three houses sold in Whanganui were contaminated with methamphetamine.
Labour housing spokesman Phil Twyford said the policy was a sham to distract from pressure on first-home buyers from loan-to-value mortgage restrictions, which were introduced on the same day as FirstHome.
“It may have given a benefit to a small number of people, and good luck to all of them, but it’s not a serious attempt to address the housing crisis.”
Twyford said the policy’s record so far was unimpressive and the houses were being sold in places where affordability was not a problem, and people needed jobs.
Sales figures were hardly exceptional, given the knockdown price of the properties, he said. The scheme was also expensive to run.
In answers to a written parliamentary question from Twyford, Smith said the scheme’s administrative cost had been $172,879 in its first four months, including real estate agent commissions, legal fees and valuation costs.
“They would have spent at least $200,000 in admin costs by now,” Twyford said.
The scheme calls for up to 400 houses to be released over three years. So far, 137 potential buyers have registered for the chance to buy, which is allocated by first-come first-served.
The dearest house was sold in Dargaville for $180,000, while the cheapest went for $55,000 in Whanganui.
Levin real estate agent Roz Wallace, who has sold six of the homes, said it had been successful in Horowhenua.
“It seems to work pretty well. We’ve sold six and have the seventh under offer . . . there is a lot of paperwork to fill in, but it’s well worth the challenge.”
– © Fairfax NZ News
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