Yes it is like winning Lotto
The Herald reported:
In the middle of the moment were a young couple, Derryn Jayne and Fletcher Ross, the proud owners of a new four-bedroom KiwiBuild home on Regiment Way costing $649,000.
“It feels amazing, it feels like we have won the Lotto,” said Jayne, who at 25 and about to graduate as a doctor, was thrilled at winning a ballot for one of the first 18 KiwiBuild homes at McLennan Park.
Jayne and her 24-year-old partner Ross, an online marketer, were on the verge of giving up hope of getting on the property ladder in Auckland before “getting lucky” with KiwiBuild.
“Not many people can say their first home is a brand new one,” said 24-year-old Ross, whose home, smelling of fresh paint and carpet, was opened to inspection by the media and photos with the Prime Minister.
Jayne is right. It is like winning Lotto. Every month a few lucky families will get a house at a discounted price, subsidized by taxpayers. It won’t be the most needy families that get them, just those who win the ballot.
Not taking anything away from Jayne and Ross, who got lucky. Good on them.
But let’s look at their circumstances and consider whether they are the most needy family for a subsidized four bedroom house.
- Aged mid 20s,
- Double income, both with potentially high income jobs
- No kids
- Has traveled to NYC, New Jersey, Paris, Berlin, Hawaii, Samoa, Rome, Venice, Netherlands, Munich, Athens, Santorini, London, Ibiza and Dubronvik all by the age of 24!
Again good on them for their great luck. But Kiwibuild is going to cost billions of dollars and should subsidised housing go towards the most needy, or just be done like Lotto?