- A partially developed Lower Hutt site meant for affordable homes is being sold in a mortgagee sale.
- Koru Homes NZ’s project stalled, leaving buyers without homes and the company in liquidation.
- Eight unsecured creditors are owed $4.039m, with Avanti Finance owed about $3m.
A partially developed chunk of land in Lower Hutt that once promised to be the answer for first-home buyers struggling to get on the property ladder is being sold in a mortgagee sale.
Start your property search
Koru Homes NZ had ambitious plans to build 51 three-bedroom homes on the Wainuiomata site and offered most of them to first-home buyers at a fixed price of $650,000 – well below market rate.
The initiative led by Koru Homes director and majority shareholder Adrian Chooi hit the headlines in 2021 after hundreds of applicants entered a ballot for the right to buy an affordable home in the Koru Kāinga development.
But dozens of first-home buyers who paid their deposits for the house-and-land package were left empty-handed after work on the subdivision at 2A Gawler Grove stalled, and the company was placed in liquidation.
An artist's impression of the proposed Koru Kainga development. Photo / Supplied
Ariana McCahill was one of the buyers chosen from the ballot. She told OneRoof that she had been priced out of the market, and the Koru Kāinga homes were the only ones in her price range.
McCahill, who paid her 10% deposit in September 2021, said problems with the development became apparent after the ground-breaking ceremony. The developer had exercised the right to extend the contract several times, and McCahill decided to pull out of the purchase.
She had been a member of a Facebook group with other Koru Home owners and said they had faced months and months of uncertainty about whether their homes were actually going to be built.
“It is sad because there were so many people at the groundbreaking thing that just needed it. They were looking forward to having that house, and it was theirs, and it was going to be brand new, and there was going to be a community of people.”
McCahill found a home in the end, benefitting from the steep drop in Wellington house prices post-2022. However, when she entered the ballot, it had been really tough for homeowners to get on the property ladder because most new builds were over $700,000, she said. “There were no new builds for $650,000 unless you wanted to live in a one-bedroom apartment.”
Discover more:
- Buy a slice of history: Landmark Smith & Caughey building listed for sale
- Price shocks and deserted open homes: what the war means for house prices
- South Auckland's 'worst do-up' in 15 years heads to auction at $400k reserve
Liquidator Heath Gair, of Palliser Insolvency, told OneRoof that the project stalled after Koru Homes failed to secure financing.
As he understood it, buyers who placed their deposits in a solicitor’s trust account were reimbursed upon cancellation of the sale and purchase agreements.
Eight unsecured creditors are owed a total of $4.039m as a result of the collapse. Avanti Finance, which is reportedly owed about $3m for both the Gawler Grove property and a 4000sqm lifestyle block at 104 Upper Fitzherbert Road, in Lower Hutt, appointed Bayleys to market the two blocks of land in February 2025.
The properties were withdrawn from sale in September and marked as sold on OneRoof. However, the properties failed to change hands, and 2A Gawler Grove, which has an RV of $1.05m, was relisted earlier this month.
An Avanti Finance spokesperson said it was unable to comment on the specifics of the matter without breaching confidentiality obligations and directed any further questions to the liquidator.
Bayleys listing agent Rob Black also declined to comment on the property, but his listing described it as a rare opportunity to secure a substantial 9486sqm section in Wainuiomata.
Significant earthworks and preliminary site works had already been undertaken, giving developers the chance to assess and potentially integrate into their own plans, his listing said.
“The scale of the site allows flexibility to revisit the previous layout or create a new concept aligned with current market demand, whether catering to first-home buyers, families or downsizers.”
- 2A Gawler Grove, in Wainuiomata, Lower Hutt, is for sale by negotiation
