An additional 78 families have been contracted to the scheme, and another 25 families will soon be moving into apartments built in Queenstown.
Housing Minister Megan Woods said she was proud of the scheme. The National Party labelled it an embarrassment.
National Party housing spokesperson Nicola Willis said the fact the housing minister was showing off about 12 houses beggared belief.
"It's astounding to me that the minister has taken the time and money to put together a PR video spinning this when what people want her to focus on is increasing housing supply."
Willis said the video was out of touch.
"To be showing off about 12 houses, well there are hundreds of thousands of Kiwis who desperately want their own home and they know they have a better chance of winning lotto than getting into this scheme."Woods defended the number, saying it could take up to three years for someone to go through the process.
She said it was much different than buying a house through conventional means.
"This is about working with families who often have high levels of debt, it's about not only repaying that debt, it is working to establish a good credits history, a savings history and then working to ensure that a bank will lend to this family," she said.
Woods said the government planned to move between 1500 and 4000 families into home ownership through the scheme.
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Comments
No real surprise with this government. They are full of excellent ideas but simply do not have the expertise or brainpower to convert to outcomes. It would be hilarious except that its the taxpayer funding these dopey projects. Maybe they need another working group??
While I have serious doubts over Megan Woods competence i'm not so stupid to accept at face value the light weight twitterings of Nicola Willis in an unchallenged press release.
Miss Willis seems to believe this initiative is the entire and only govt policy for attacking the housing crisis that the national party created and denied existed until they became the opposition.
Far from being a cost to the taxpayer the Progressive Home Ownership Scheme is underwritten by the govt but paid for by the participants.
McRae in her comments above is correct in that the scheme is an excellent idea but it is far from being a failure it is on track and achieving its goals.
"Woods defended the number, saying it could take up to three years for someone to go through the process" well they have had three years already...
No. You're wrong. The scheme was announced 18 months ago in 2019.
No. You're wrong. This govt has been in power now for three years, now tell me where the 100.000 houses they promised us went and why if this 'scheme' has been in place for 18 months, why has only 12 family's been housed?.