15 August 2018

The Government is putting New Zealand’s housing market at risk through its KiwiBuild programme, National’s Housing spokesperson Judith Collins says.

The REINZ report released today shows a decline in the national median house price since last month, and the Reserve Bank Governor has indicated prices could fall.

“The housing market fluctuates all the time and the Government’s KiwiBuild programme will have to adjust if the housing market falls further.

Housing Minister Phil Twyford’s own Cabinet paper states the Crown will take on any risk if the housing market fluctuates up or down.

This is in addition to Kiwibank’s announcement they would accept 10 per cent deposits from first home buyers.

“Accepting low deposits puts young families buying their first home through KiwiBuild at risk.

“There will be no room to move if interest rates rise or if there is a change in property values.

“If the housing market falls, the 10 per cent deposit KiwiBuild buyers will have invested will be wiped out.

“Mr Twyford shows he still hasn’t thought about the risks of banks accepting low deposits by saying those are decisions made between the prospective buyer and the bank.

“If anything goes south, buyers will be left on their own.

“Buying a house is not a one-off, done and dusted deal. First home buyers often choose a 30 year mortgage repayment term, where in that time interest rates can fluctuate dramatically making it harder to re-negotiate their fixed home loan rates.

“KiwiBuild is still lacking in detail on the massive risk the Government is putting first home buyers, the banks, the Crown and New Zealand’s housing market in.”

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