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Kiwibuild is not changing course on its plans to build 211 houses in Wanaka's Northlake subdivision.
As revealed by the Otago Daily Times last week, only four of the first 10 KiwiBuild houses had been sold.
On a visit to Wanaka in September, Housing Minister Phil Twyford announced a total of 211 KiwiBuild houses would be built in the subdivision in the following two years, of which 20 months are left.
When asked if Mr Twyford was likely to review the decision to build the houses, a spokeswoman for the minister said the contract for KiwiBuild homes in Wanaka was ''between the KiwiBuild Unit and the developers''.
A KiwiBuild spokesman told the ODT yesterday ''the terms of KiwiBuild's agreement with the developer have not been changed''.
The spokesman said the six unsold houses were ''now complete and available for direct sale to eligible KiwiBuild buyers''.
Waitaki MP Jacqui Dean said yesterday she considered the houses ''not practical'' and ''not functional''.
''The Government expects Wanaka families looking for a home to pay over half a million dollars for a two-bedroom townhouse that doesn't even have a garage.
''How appealing is a two-bedroomed town house that's attached to another property by a shared wall, with no garage, and costs upwards of $560,000?
''It's no wonder no-one wants to buy them.''
Ms Dean said the lack of interest showed how out of touch the Government was ''when it comes to delivering suitable first homes for young Kiwi families''.
The KiwiBuild spokesman responded by saying four of the six homes for sale were stand-alone three-bedroom homes.
''Also, two of the four KiwiBuild homes sold so far in Northlake are two-bedroom attached homes, priced at $565,000 and $575,000.
''The price of the homes reflects the cost of land and building in Wanaka, and should be seen in context of the
$1.2 million average house price in Queenstown-Lakes, which is up 54% in the past three years.''
