The new homes will be part of a 1,600 home lakeside development
First National Real Estate Chief Executive Bob Brereton believes that KiwiBuild’s housing development in Te Kauwhata will be a flop.
The Te Kauwhata homes will be part of KiwiBuild’s 1,600 home lakeside development that features a café, restaurant, medical centre, small office space, and childcare centre.
However, Brereton said that market demand does not measure up so the government will be left with 175 homes and only a few buyers, if any.
“The demand to buy a first home in Te Kauwhata simply doesn’t exist and the Government is just repeating the mistakes of the much publicised Wanaka debacle. Building 175 new homes in a location with little employment and a large commute to Auckland is madness and will almost certainly end with most of the KiwiBuild homes failing to sell,” said Brereton.
Read more: KiwiBuild needs a shake-up, says OECD
Brereton said he supports KiwiBuild’s rebranding but the company needs a fundamental change of policies for the project to succeed.
“Rebranding won’t be enough. We need a complete rethink of the policy and a new, market focused, approach,” he said.
“The market is already building many more than 10,000 homes per year without any involvement from KiwiBuild, so clearly the Government doesn’t actually need to be in the business of building these homes.”
Brereton added that that the real issue is the lack of affordable rental properties and that the government should work with property investors to address the country’s emerging rental issues.
“The problem has been entirely misinterpreted. The government seems to be confusing a lack of accommodation with a lack of affordability for first home buyers,” said Brereton.
“What we really need is for the Government to stop stigmatizing property investors and start working with them to address our emerging rental issues.”
