Kainga Ora 1yr bill $97m

Over the past year, Kāinga Ora has spent $47 million buying houses from Gisborne developers, plus another $50m building its own.

The state housing provider confirmed the figures in response to an Official Information Act request from The Gisborne Herald.

“Kāinga Ora has settled the purchase of 32 new homes across six developments since June 1, 2022,” Kāinga Ora government relations manager Rachel Kelly said.

“A further 37 new homes in three developments are expected to be settled by March 2024.

“This is a total of 69 new homes with a total contract price of $47,292,667.

“In relation to Kāinga Ora-led developments (redeveloping our own properties), more than $50m was spent across 38 projects between April, 2022 and May, 2023.

“All of these homes are built in partnership with the private sector. Kāinga Ora is investing millions into building  companies, suppliers and the residential construction sector in Gisborne, providing a pipeline of work, employment opportunities and income streams.

“Kāinga Ora also considers social outcomes with the local contracts it enters into. Many of our build partners employ local Māori and Pasifika people and run pre-employment and apprenticeship programmes. Some of the homes are being built by trade academies and transported on site to Gisborne properties.”

The Kāinga Ora developments are all at varying stages of completion, but for context, figures from Statistics New Zealand show 171 residential building consents were issued here for the 12 months ending May, 2023, at a combined value of $75,561,128.

However, Master Builders Gisborne branch president Paul Randall said “only a select few” seemed to be given the opportunity to take on Kāinga Ora work.

Although Gisborne was not experiencing the building woes of bigger centres yet, “it certainly would help should the need arise”, if that work was available to all.

“I have heard of a reduction in inquiry for some companies locally, and nationally we hear projects have certainly had a reduction in the bigger regions and it generally filters through to our region later on,” Mr Randall said.

“The boom-bust cycle our industry suffers from is an issue the Master Builders are actively working on with the government at a national level to avoid.

“Very high work levels over recent years and Cyclone Gabrielle’s recovery may help reduce the effects for the industry in our region, as long as clients stay committed to those projects.

“It’s also a good time if you are considering a project, to go through with it.

“A builder will be easier to get and providing work whether big or small will help boost things.”