The first of a promised 100,000 Kiwibuild homes was unveiled today. Madeleine Chapman donned her safety glasses and gave the Auckland property a definitive review.

Kiwibuild homes are on the market. Housing minister Phil Twyford stood in front of one today to say that the first 18 had been completed and would be sold through a ballot which opens on September 10.

If you’re planning to enter the ballot for one of 12 three-bedroom homes ($579,000) or six four-bedroom places ($649,000), get in quick. The show home will be open for viewing from September 8 (full details on the ballot, viewing and eligibility below), in the McLennan development in Papakura. That’s a 35-minute drive from the city at midday on a Sunday, and decidedly longer any other day of the week.

Opposition housing spokesperson Judith Collins has suggested the houses would have been built under National anyway.

Twyford says they expect to see 1,000 homes built under the programme in the first year, 5,000 by June 2020 and 10,000 by June 2021.

I went along to the press conference and media tour of the three-bedroom home to see what $579,000 will buy you. The answer? Not a whole lot of space to put all your crap, but a generous two toilets to put all your crap. Watch below for the full tour and review.

Eligibility, viewing and ballot details, per government release

KiwiBuild eligibility

Applicants must:

• Be a first-time buyer or a ‘second chancer’
• Have an income of less than $120,000 for a single buyer, or no more than $180,000 for more than one purchaser,
• Be a New Zealand citizen or permanent resident, or a resident visa holder who is ‘ordinarily resident in New Zealand’,
• And intend to own and live in the home as their primary place of residence for at least three years.

Pre-qualification requirements

The online pre-qualification process will ask for specific documentation certified by an authorised person (eg Justice of the Peace, lawyer, etc) including:

• Proof of citizenship/residency
• Proof of income
• Financial pre-approval from a bank or other lender
• Statutory declaration signed by an authorised person (e.g. a Justice of the Peace, lawyer)

McLennan Development show home

The show home will be open for four weeks from 8 September.

Viewing hours:

• 10am – 4pm weekends
• 10am – 2pm weekdays
• By appointment outside those hours contact the sales team at mclennan.co.nz

The show home is located in the McLennan development at 42 Liberation Road, Papakura. Follow the signs from the corner of Battalion Drive and Swamp Kauri Grove to Lot 719.

The first ballot

The ballot for the first 18 KiwiBuild homes at McLennan opens on Monday, 10 September, and is for 12 x three-bedroom and 6 x four-bedroom houses. Buyers can enter ballots for multiple homes but the system will only allow them to win one home.

The ballot closes on Friday, 5 October, and ballot winners will be contacted soon after.

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