Kāinga Ora to sell 36 Strathmore homes as rebuild plan is dropped

Kāinga Ora is selling 36 empty social homes in two blocks on Nuku Street in Strathmore, Wellington, with offers due by 21 October.

The agency told neighbours in a notice dated 25 September 2026 that the properties would go on the market, according to the notice document Kāinga Ora notice. The blocks have been empty for up to six years. Kāinga Ora said the 36 properties had reached the end of their life.

The site was first offered to iwi under a Right of First Refusal, which gives iwi with Treaty settlements the first chance to buy surplus Crown land. It was not bought through that process, so it can now be sold on the open market.

Kāinga Ora had planned to build 39 new homes on the site. That plan was stopped in 2025 after a nationwide reset of Kāinga Ora RNZ. Earlier plans had envisaged nearly 90 new homes in Strathmore.

Regional director for Greater Wellington Sarah Willson said building new social housing on the site was not financially viable. Kāinga Ora said money from the sale would be used for its housing renewals programme. In its market notice, the agency said putting the properties on the market creates an opportunity for future residential development on the site.

Strathmore resident Lizzie Pringle, a member of Strathmore Housing Action, said she was disappointed by the decision to sell. She said more than 600 households in Wellington are waiting for houses. She said she would raise concerns about the sale at an election housing forum on 10 October.

The broader context here is asset recycling rather than new supply. The rebuild plan is formally closed, the iwi first-refusal step is complete, the homes are recorded as end-of-life, and the proceeds are tagged for renewals rather than replacement on site. That fits the post-reset way Kāinga Ora now works, where cost checks decide whether it rebuilds or sells.

Looking at what this means for the next fortnight, the timing puts the sale inside the election period. The 10 October forum gives opponents and advocates a set date to test ministers and candidates on sales, waiting-list pressure and the renewals programme. The 21 October deadline then tests buyer interest in a site Kāinga Ora itself says does not stack up for social housing.