Housing Minister Chris Bishop says the government is looking into the sale of about 200 Kāinga Ora homes estimated to be worth $2 million each.
The comments were made by the minister today during the unveiling of his "turnaround" plan for the social housing agency.
The plan includes selling about 900 older homes annually, with new builds ensuring no net reduction in state houses.
Bishop said the money generated by selling off those properties would then be reinvested in more affordable areas to help with Kāinga Ora's costs.
"Frankly, a much better use of that money and crown capital is to divest from those high cost, high value homes in areas of Auckland where those houses exist," the minister said.
"I think most New Zealanders would say it doesn't make a lot of sense for Kāinga Ora to own $2 million houses in Remuera for example."
"They should be investing where the need is greatest, which is not Remuera by the way."
State houses in Auckland (file image). Photo: RNZ / Cole Eastham-Farrelly
But one former resident at a state house in Remuera said he was apprehensive about the sale of Kāinga Ora properties in the upmarket Auckland suburb.
Peter O'Brien worried what effect it would have on the community.
"I think its really important that with houses like this you have a mix in society, you don't want to have everybody just in one area," O'Brien said.
"I've been to England, I've seen those big slums and high rises and unfortunately they're building them here too.
"I know it's costly this is the only thing but it's good to have a mix within society."
Community Housing Aotearoa chief executive Paul Gilberd said it made sense to review the state housing portfolio but more housing was needed.
"We'd like to see the amount of social housing grow over time, that's simply because of the unmet housing need that is across the country and is growing at present," Gilberd said.
"Everybody including Kāinga Ora, churches and community groups, community housing sector needs to do everything it can to increase the amount of housing stock in New Zealand.
"We simply don't have enough of it."
Gilberd said community housing providers were ready to build 1500 new social houses but were still waiting for the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development to sign off the projects, after funding was set aside in the latest government budget.
