By Jonathan Killick of 
Richard and Meg Maher said they were "shaking with relief" after learning their home purchase agreement would be settled after a troubled three-year journey. Photo: Jonathan Killick/ Stuff
The government has been in secretive negotiations with a struggling developer to unlock scores of KiwiBuild homes that otherwise might not have been handed over to anxious first home buyers.
Stuff understands that Kāinga Ora has agreed to purchase at least part of the troubled Ormiston Rise subdivision in Auckland from developers The Neighbourhood. The developer will remain on as a contractor for the development.
It was previously reported that 56 KiwiBuild homes to be delivered as part of stage one of The Neighbourhood Ormiston had been inexplicably held up, with buyers being kept in the dark amid looming sunset clauses.
Buyers Richard and Meg Maher said they were "shaking with relief" after receiving an email on Friday from the chair of the developer's law firm, Bell Gully, saying their settlement was imminent.
After a three-year journey enduring a storm of delays caused by the pandemic and the developer going into receivership in 2021, the Mahers' settlement looks as if it will coincide with Richard's 30th birthday.
"Gosh, what a relief. I am in shock, we're both shaking like a leaf," he said, having just received the news.
Three bedroom terraced houses were advertised on The Neighbourhood's website in Ocober for $829,000 with claims buyers could "move in by Christmas". Photo: Jonathan Killick/ Stuff
The development, also known as Ormiston Rise, is to be delivered in stages with about 715 new houses, a significant portion of which is intended to be KiwiBuild.
A tranche of the houses, including the Mahers', were visibly complete. However, the couple's home had been withheld from settlement while the developer negotiated with the government.
Tony Osborne, a director of The Neighbourhood, previously said it had put the proposal in front of Kāinga Ora and the minister of housing last week.
He said since the receivership, the developer had been working hard to deliver the homes despite ongoing challenges.
"Funding partners have kept the development going to try to deliver the homes, despite the project costs now considerably exceeding sales revenue."
Osborne said the company had been waiting to see whether Kāinga Ora would support a proposal that would "allow the project to be completed", before updating buyers of the situation.
"We fully understand the frustration of those buyers still waiting to take possession of their new homes at The Neighbourhood at Ormiston," he said.
Buyers received a mass email update from the developer on Friday. For some, it was the first communication since June.
"The Neighbourhood at Ormiston has today called for settlement on all KiwiBuild properties that can be settled, and we expect to call for settlement on the remaining KiwiBuild properties in the coming weeks.
"Once again, we would like to apologise for the stressful delays and reiterate our thanks to Government agencies for their flexibility in helping to achieve a solution."
Kāinga Ora had been firmly tight-lipped when approached a multitude of times by a reporter, saying that negotiations were "delicate" and "complex".
"As part of the discussions we've had with the developer on the KiwiBuild homes, a section of land in the development was identified and there has been a commercial transaction with the developer," a spokesperson said.
"This land is separate from the KiwiBuild homes in stage one of the development."
The spokesperson said that while the KiwiBuild "underwrite programme" did not manage the construction or sale of houses, it had been "working with the developer on a pathway forward".
"As an urban developer, our role is to increase the supply of the market, affordable and public housing, and one way we do this is to purchase land and partner with developers across Aotearoa."
They would not put a dollar figure on the transaction, citing "commercial sensitivities". The development as a whole has previously been reported as being worth $200 million.
Meanwhile, Maher is pleased to finally have some answers, but he didn't appreciate his home seemingly being used as leverage in the negotiation between the developer and the government.
"We were collateral in all of this. It's been incredibly stressful."
The Mahers' journey began when they saw an advertisement on social media for KiwiBuild on Labour Day weekend in 2020 and decided to look at the showroom. Photo: Jonathan Killick/ Stuff
- This story was originally published by Stuff.
