By BERNARD ORSMAN
For-sale signs are going on 260 leasehold properties as the Anglican Church eases out of ownership in the upmarket eastern suburbs.
The houses, mainly in Mission Bay, Kohimarama and St Johns, are the last of a stock of 2000 properties once administered by church trusts.
Leaseholders have first option to
buy the freeholds on their properties from the Melanesian Mission Trust Board and the St John's College Trust Board.
The trusts are keeping about 20 leases on Tamaki Drive properties.
The chief executive of the Anglican Trusts Board, Peter Jansen, said residents had until March 31 to decide whether they wanted to buy the freehold, which would be based on the valuation of their section.
The church has progressively sold the bulk of its eastern suburbs portfolio since the mid-1990s. The leases, which go back to last century and are reviewed every 21 years, have been a cause of embarrassment.
A rebellion against ground-rent rises of up to 6000 per cent led to a ministerial inquiry in 1993. The inquiry found the rises legal, but criticised the church for the way they were imposed.
Mr Jansen conceded that the sale had a positive spinoff for the church's image. A review of the board's investment strategies had found the market for leasehold land was relatively thin. That led to a decision by the church to diversify its portfolio.
Proceeds from the sales would go into other areas of the property market, term deposits, local and international equities and bonds.
Rod MacNeil, of Barfoot and Thompson in St Johns, said the sale was good news for property owners but was unlikely to affect house prices.
Noel McGrevy, who led a leaseholders' group which fought against the rent rises, welcomed the sales.
"It's advantageous to the church because it gets out of having to deal with people in a way that is seen as anti-Christian, and it is good for leaseholders because they want control of their own properties."
