Hon Phil Twyford

Minister for Housing and Urban Development

30 August 2018 MEDIA STATEMENT

The HomeStart and Welcome Home Loan house price caps for Queenstown Lakes will be increased to $600,000 for existing homes and $650,000 for new builds to enable more first-home buyers to get onto the property ladder, Housing and Urban Development Minister Phil Twyford announced today.

“Queenstown Lakes District has the highest median house price in New Zealand, so it makes sense that it also has the highest HomeStart house price cap, alongside Auckland, to give buyers a fair chance at accessing the grant,” Phil Twyford said.

“The previous HomeStart price caps of $500,000 for existing homes and $550,000 for new builds for Queenstown Lakes District meant that it was virtually impossible for first-home buyers to access the grants.

“Only 7% of all house sales in Queenstown Lakes were below $550,000 in the year to March 2018. By comparison, 23% of house sales in Auckland were below its $650,000 HomeStart new build price cap, and between 24% and 99% of house sales were below the price cap in other Territorial Authorities.

“I’m pleased that we’re able to make this adjustment for Queenstown, to open up access to Government assistance to more first-home buyers in one of our most expensive areas for purchasing a home.

“These changes are the result of a request from National’s local Clutha-Southland MP Hamish Walker, who wrote to me highlighting the discrepancy between Auckland and Queenstown’s HomeStart price caps.

“The majority of grants currently paid out in Queenstown Lakes are for new builds so this adjustment to the price caps is also expected to complement housing supply, particularly as our KiwiBuild programme ramps up,” Phil Twyford said.

The changes to the HomeStart and Welcome Home Loan house price caps for Queenstown Lakes District will come into effect from Monday 17 September 2018.

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