State-built homes spurring Auckland's property boom

Wellington

EVEN with its mould-streaked bathroom and kitchen without a sink, the duplex in bayside Auckland attracted a frenzied bidding war. Now it's one of the city's newest million-dollar government-built houses.

The two-bedroom, brick cottage on Kerr Street on the city's inner north shore fetched NZ$1.04 million (S$961,000) at an auction in September.

Long regarded as symbols of economic disadvantage, homes built by the state in the last century for low-income tenants are on a tear, thanks to their typically generous land sizes and proximity to the city.

The changing fortunes of these modest dwellings - loved and derided by New Zealanders for their functionality over style - reflect a fervour that's …