Kāinga Ora has purchased a $21m-plus housing development in north Hamilton in an attempt to create more transitional housing in the city.
The Government agency has confirmed to OneRoof that it is the confidential buyer in the final stages of purchasing all 27 duplexes in the new development at 45 Borman Road in Huntington and expects people to be moving in soon.
OneRoof reported earlier this week that the record-breaking deal, brokered by Harcourts agent Yvenna Yue, is understood to be the single biggest residential transaction in both volume and value.
“We have never had someone buy the whole lot in one go – that's unheard of, Yue said.
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The titles on the 27 properties are still to be issued, but Kāinga Ora – Homes and Communities Waikato regional director Mark Rawson hoped people and families would be able to move into their new homes by May.
Hamilton-based Apex Properties built the properties which are a mix of two-and three-bedroom duplexes. Some have been completed, while some of the two-storey units are still under construction.
The four-stage development at 45 Borman Road, in Huntington, has been on the market for at least six months. Photo / Supplied
Prior to the purchase, the houses had been individually listed for sale for between $800,000 and $850,000 each with an expected rental return of between $600 and $620 a week.
The housing development will be owned by Kāinga Ora, but managed and maintained by housing and support services provider Emerge Aotearoa. Emerge Aotearoa declined to comment on the new purchase instead referring OneRoof to Kāinga Ora’s response.
Rawson said the transitional housing will provide more much-needed homes for those in need.
“This is an opportunity to have an immediate and meaningful impact on the community by increasing the number of homes to get more whānau out of unstable living conditions and into a warm, dry and safe place to call home.“
Transitional housing provides temporary accommodation for people and families with urgent housing needs and is a step between emergency accommodation offered at some of Hamilton’s motels and secure long-term accommodation.
Meanwhile, Rawson confirmed the large public housing development aimed at providing longer-term accommodation is still going ahead in the neighbouring suburb of Flagstaff despite already being pushed back for several years.
The controversial 60-home development comprising of 19 two-bedroom, 32 three-bedroom, eight four-bedroom homes and one five-bedroom house is to be built on the Endeavour Ave site and will be a mix of public and privately-owned market housing.
