KiwiBuild home buyers must have income below $120,000 for singles, $180,000 for couples

Brian from New Lynn

The KiwiBuild policy is to build 100,000 affordable homes over the next 10 years, starting with 1000 over the next year. Production will reach 5000 homes by June 2020 and 10,000 homes by June 2021, Housing and Urban Development Minister Phil Twyford said today. KiwiBuild homebuyers must have an income below $120,000 for sole purchasers and $180,000 for couples. "We know that New Zealanders at and below these incomes are struggling to buy a home, especially in high demand areas such as Auckland and Queenstown," Mr Twyford said. "For instance a couple of teachers may have a combined income of between $150,000 and $170,000. For a nurse and police officer earning upwards of $120,000, and for an engineer living alone, $90,000. "A decade ago these families would have been able to afford a home, but they are now locked out of the market," he said. KiwiBuild home buyers must be first-home buyers or what are described as 'second chancers'. Second chancers are people who have previously owned a home but no longer do so and now find themselves in a similar financial position as a first home buyer, such as a person who has divorced. KiwiBuild buyers must also be New Zealand citizens, permanent residents or those who ordinarily reside in New Zealand. And they must intend to own, and live in the home for at least three years. From today aspiring homeowners can register their interest online in a KiwiBuild home, with the first of the homes on track to be completed shortly, Mr Twyford said. All eligible buyers will have an equal chance to own a KiwiBuild home at cost price through a ballot system, he said.The minister says this week marks the official start of the KiwiBuild programme, where homes built under the programme will count towards the Government's official target.
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