The Complete First Home Buyer Guide, NZ

Work out what you can actually afford

Before looking at a single listing, get a real number for what you could borrow. This isn't the same as what a bank's online calculator spits out from a couple of fields; it depends on your actual income, existing debt, and day-to-day spending, since banks now look closely at real bank statements, not just stated income.

Start with the Borrowing Power Calculator for a rough figure, then get it properly checked before you commit to viewing houses in a price range you might not actually qualify for.

Understand your deposit options

Most first home buyers use a combination of savings, KiwiSaver, and sometimes the Kāinga Ora First Home Loan to reach their deposit.

• KiwiSaver withdrawal: if you've been contributing for at least 3 years, you can generally withdraw most of your balance toward a first home, leaving a minimum of $1,000 in the account.
• Kāinga Ora First Home Loan: allows a deposit as low as 5% for eligible buyers. Income and price caps apply, and these change from time to time, so always check current figures directly at kaingaora.govt.nz rather than relying on a number you saw somewhere else.
• Standard bank lending: most banks lend at a 10% deposit for first home buyers without needing Kāinga Ora involvement at all.

For a deeper look at how the First Home Loan and KiwiSaver work together, see the full Kāinga Ora explainer on the blog.

Get pre-approved before you start looking

Pre-approval means a lender has confirmed, in principle, how much they'll lend you, before you've found a property. It matters for two reasons: it stops you falling in love with a house you can't actually get finance for, and it makes your offer more credible to a vendor competing against other buyers.

Pre-approval usually lasts 60 to 90 days depending on the lender, so timing it against your actual house-hunting window matters too, an adviser can help sequence this properly.

Know what lenders actually check

Beyond income, lenders look closely at:

• Real spending patterns from 3 to 6 months of bank statements, including subscriptions, buy-now-pay-later, and discretionary spending
• Existing debt, including credit card limits (not just balances) and any personal loans
• Employment stability, particularly for self-employed or recently-changed roles
• Your genuine savings history, lenders want to see evidence of disciplined saving, not just a lump sum that appeared recently

Tightening up spending in the 3 to 6 months before applying can genuinely change the outcome.

Decide: mortgage adviser or bank direct?

Going directly to your own bank means you only see what that one bank offers. A mortgage adviser compares your situation across multiple lenders, including ones you might not have considered, and the advice is free: advisers are paid by the lender you go with, not by you.

Jagdip is a licensed Financial Adviser (FSP1010098) operating under All Seasons Mortgage Limited (FSP1007045). See her Disclosure Statement for exactly how this works.