Header - Housing and Urban Development

Judith Collins - Housing and Urban Development

13 August 2018

Today’s announcement on the opening of pre-qualification for KiwiBuild houses has left New Zealanders with more questions than answers, National’s Housing spokesperson Judith Collins says.

“Housing Minister Phil Twyford had nine years to come up with a detailed KiwiBuild plan, yet he’s still dodging the important questions.

“How will Housing New Zealand require people to retain ownership for three years?

“How is KiwiBuild going to adjust if the housing market continues to decline?

“And the big question, when is KiwiBuild going to have more than a limited number of houses ready for sale?

“Mr Twyford has also said some of the homes won’t have their code of compliance due to inspection time-frames and other factors.

“What are these other factors? Not having a code of compliance will bump up insurance costs, making purchasing the house a lot less attractive.

“These questions are on top of Kiwibank’s announcement today they will be accepting first home buyers with just a 10 per cent deposit.

“It is possible for any bank to accept a 10 per cent deposit, however, this means young families with a 10 per cent deposit who are completely new to buying a home will be bombarded with extra costs on top of higher interest rates, such as Kiwibank’s low equity fees, and insurance costs.

“Mr Twyford continues to show he has no idea how KiwiBuild will work. He needs to front up with answers instead of pushing murky details.”

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