It turns out National’s sold off a net 251 houses since it was re-elected. The spin is that isn’t a sell-down but moving resources to where they’re needed… uh, huh…. fewer resources. Meanwhile, looks like KiwiBuild’s hugely popular. The State building affordable housing always has been. Now, if only me and my partner could afford to service a $300,000 mortgage….
Selling down those state houses makes its bloody hard for families who’ve already got it tough. They’re chucked out in the private rental market, where the homes are worse condition and cost more – and their added demand helps to push the prices up further. Nice one, National.
My mate in Housing NZ reckons that it’s just the beginning too – big sell-offs coming in the next few years.
Back to KiwiBuild. And no-one’s denying the good intention. But what kind of income and deposit do you need to get the private mortgage to buy a KiwiBuild house? Sorted.org.nz reckons it would be about $700-800 a fortnight in repayments, if you can stump up with $15k for the minimum deposit. Anyone know what the minimum income a couple with a couple of kids would need to get a loan like that from a bank is? What’s Labour’s upper income limit to buy a KiwiBuild house going to be, again? Is this just charity for the upper-middle class?
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