Buying Your First Home?

In New Zealand, most banks ask for at least a 20% deposit. That means if you’re buying a $600,000 home, you’ll usually need about $120,000 saved.

 
Some banks do lend with smaller deposits (as little as 5%), but these are harder to get approved for and often come with stricter conditions.

What matters most is showing you can afford the repayments long-term — not just hitting the deposit number.

That’s where advice helps: I’ll show you which banks are open to your deposit size, and how to structure things so you’ve got the best chance of approval.

This depends on your income, expenses, and debts.

As a rough guide, banks will typically lend you 4.5–6 times your household income.

• If you earn $100k combined, borrowing power could be around $450k–$600k.

• But this changes a lot between banks. Some are stricter, some more flexible — especially with things like student loans, car loans, or credit cards.

 I run the numbers across multiple banks for you, so you know your real borrowing limit before you start house-hunting.

Yes, you can usually use your KiwiSaver savings for your first home. Most providers allow you to withdraw everything except $1,000, which has to stay in your account.

• Example: If you’ve got $40,000 in KiwiSaver, you can usually pull out about $39,000.

Other considerations

• The rules vary slightly by provider.

• The money gets paid to your lawyer/conveyancer on settlement — not directly to you.

• Processing usually takes 10–15 working days, so don’t leave it too late.

The rules are slightly different depending on your provider, but I’ll guide you through the paperwork and make sure your KiwiSaver withdrawal lines up with your bank approval, so nothing holds up settlement.

Repayments depend on how much you borrow, your interest rate, and the loan duration.

Use the Mortgage Calculator on my site to get an idea for your situation. Otherwise, here’s a ballpark:

• Borrow $500k at 6.5% interest over 30 years → around $730 per week.

• Borrow $700k under the same setup → around $1,025 per week.

Small differences in rates or structure can save you thousands. I’ll show you the repayment scenarios across different banks so you know exactly what you’re committing to before signing anything.

The process feels complicated, but I break it into simple steps:

1. Chat with me → I’ll check your deposit, income, and borrowing power.

2. Get your paperwork together → bank statements, payslips, KiwiSaver balance.

3. Pre-approval → I’ll apply across multiple banks, so you’ve got options.

4. House hunt with confidence → you’ll know your budget and move quickly when you find “the one.”

5. Final approval → once you’ve got a signed offer, I line everything up with the bank.

I’ll guide you through each stage, keep it stress-free, and make sure you don’t miss anything.