- Five run-down state homes have hit the market for sale in Hamilton.
- Kāinga Ora plans to sell around 100 Waikato homes in 18 months.
- The homes are being marketed to flippers and renovators.
Five state homes have hit the market for sale in Hamilton, and they are in desperate need of a makeover.
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The do-up properties have a combined RV of $3.54 million and are being sold by Kāinga Ora in “as is, where is” condition.
The state housing agency plans to sell off around 100 Waikato homes over the next 18 months as part of wider plans to offload properties that are either not fit for purpose or are too costly to maintain or redevelop.
Listing photos for the five homes up for grabs this week and next week show graffiti and grime on some walls, as well as broken windows and doors. One of the houses is engulfed in weeds.
The 1940s cottage at 12 Galway Avenue, in Hayes Paddock, has an original 1940s kitchen and needs a complete renovation. Photo / Supplied
Lugtons agents Fraser Kilgour and Abbie Hyde have been tasked with selling all five properties. When approached by OneRoof, they declined to comment, but their marketing makes clear they are targeting flippers and seasoned renovators.
The five properties are: a three-bedroom house at 17 Cussen Street, in Chartwell; a two-bedroom house at 4 Cussen Street; a three-bedroom home at 37 Montgomery Crescent, in Bader; a two-bedroom house at 12 Galway Avenue, in Hamilton East; and a two-storey, three-bedroom house at 11 Old Farm Road, also in Hamilton East.
The 1940s brick house at 12 Galway Avenue is arguably the worst of the lot, but is on the best street. It has the highest RV, at $740,000, and is described in the listing on OneRoof as an “ugly duckling”, which has “definitely seen better days”.
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The listing photos show broken windows, a dated kitchen, black grime on the walls, and a garden overtaken by bamboo. The marketing sums it up best: “Bring a hammer and your bravest tradie mates.”
The two properties for sale on Cussen Street are aimed at buyers “looking to add serious value”. A property search shows most of the neighbouring properties are owned by a single property development and rental management firm.
Kāinga Ora’s Waikato regional director Mark Rawson told OneRoof there was no definitive list of homes identified for sale at this stage.
A two-bedroom property at 4 Cussen Street, in Chartwell, is one of two state houses for sale on the street. Photo / Supplied
“Age, location and potential for future redevelopment are key considerations, alongside the value of the property. We also factor in the availability of suitable, alternative housing for tenants living in the homes we’re looking to sell. In the towns and cities where we are selling, the real estate agents are selected through standard procurement processes.”
When asked why the agency was selling the five Hamilton properties “as is, where is”, Rawson said Kāinga Ora had taken the advice of the appointed real estate agent, noting that the method of sale was a common one.
“Some Kāinga Ora properties may require significant upgrades or have reached the end of their life as social housing. It makes economic sense for us to sell these homes and use the proceeds to reinvest in better quality housing. This approach means we are releasing more homes into the market for all New Zealanders. While they may no longer work for social housing, there is an opportunity for buyers to invest in the future of these sites.”
A three-bedroom, two-storey house at 11 Old Farm Road, in Hamilton East, needs someone to "bring it back to life". Photo / Supplied
The property has a lot of wear and tear, including graffiti on the walls. Photo / Supplied
Kāinga Ora declined to comment on specific properties because of “the size and scale of our divestment programme”, which meant that OneRoof’s questions on whether or not each property was Healthy Home-compliant and how long they had been vacant for went unanswered.
Ray White Hamilton director Mark Keesom said the Kāinga Ora houses would be popular with flippers.
Do-up properties were a small part of the market, and unless all 100 Kāinga Ora homes were listed at the same time, the impact of the state agency’s housing plans would be minimal. “If they [Kāinga Ora] only put on five at a time, then it will be fine.”
However, he warned that “as is, where is” properties could sell for below market expectations, which could impact the price of neighbouring houses. “That’s not that good a thing.”
Mortgage Managers broker Stuart Wills told OneRoof that the buyer pool for “as is, where is” properties was small because of bank lending restrictions.
“It will probably rule out first-home buyers because most first-home buyers have low deposits and when you are buying ‘as is, where is’, banks want to make sure you have a decent deposit and the funds to rectify any issues,” he said.
“We probably all know that if you go and renovate a house, you think it’s going to cost $30,000 and all of a sudden it’s $50,000 so every lender is going to be a little bit conservative on that sort of thing.”
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