May 20, 2022
Loan cap change to unlock housing on whenua Māori
Housing Minister Mean Woods says a major increase in the amount whānau can borrow from the Kāinga Whenua loan scheme should help more whānau into homes.
The fund is for people building, relocating, or purchasing a home on whenua Māori, but few loans have been given out.
“The Kāinga Whenua loan scheme, lifting the loan cap from $200,000 to $500,000, has the potential to really enable building on Māori land. The cap was too low and the banks had trouble lending in it because of the nature of the title of the land,” she says.
Other changes include increasing the house price caps for the First Home Grant to recognise the changes in house prices over the past year, and removing house price caps entirely from the First Home Loan, to provide a greater choice of homes for prospective first home buyers.
There’s also a new $350 million Affordable Housing Fund to support the development of new affordable homes for low-to-moderate income families and whānau in areas facing the biggest housing supply and affordability challenges.