From saving a deposit to the day you get the keys: the steps, the help available today, and calculators for each decision.
Your deposit and income set what you can borrow. Count savings, what KiwiSaver could release and any family gift, then check the range.
How much can I borrow? →Most lending needs 20% of the price; with less, banks ration loans and may charge more. The First Home Loan accepts 5% for incomes under its caps.
KiwiSaver withdrawal calculator →A bank or mortgage adviser checks your finances and says how much they would lend, subject to the property. It tells you what to look at and makes your offer credible.
Pre-approval explained →Look up any address for its estimated value, council valuation, sales history, title, zoning and hazards before you go to an open home.
Look up a property →Get the LIM from the council, a building inspection, and read the title for easements and covenants. For a unit title, read the body corporate’s records and levies. At auction you buy unconditionally, so all of this comes first.
Search a title →Have a property lawyer or conveyancer read the sale and purchase agreement before you sign. A private offer can be conditional on finance, the LIM and a building report; you pay the deposit when it goes unconditional.
Your lawyer pays the vendor on settlement day, with the bank’s loan and any KiwiSaver. Do a pre-settlement inspection, and have house insurance in place from settlement: banks require it.
After three years in KiwiSaver, withdraw all but $1,000 toward a home you will live in. What could it buy?
A 5% deposit through participating lenders, for household incomes up to $95,000 (single, no dependants) or $150,000 (with dependants, or buying together). A lenders’ mortgage insurance fee applies. More
Closed to new applications in May 2024.
As at 12 October 2026. Eligibility is decided by Kāinga Ora, your KiwiSaver provider and lenders; check with them before relying on it. A change to the First Home Loan income caps has been proposed for after the 7 November 2026 election.
With under a 20% deposit most banks charge a low-equity margin or fee and lend less freely. How low-deposit loans work.
The rate is held for the whole term here, which no New Zealand loan is: fixed terms run out and are refixed at whatever rates are then. Interest is charged each repayment period. A guide, not a lending offer.
| Rate | Repayment, a fortnight | Interest over 30 years |
|---|---|---|
| At 6.00% | $1,618 | $677,048 |
| At 7.00% (+1) | $1,795 | $815,483 |
| At 8.00% (+2) | $1,980 | $959,644 |
| Year | Interest | Principal | Owing at year end |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $34,895 | $7,173 | $577,827 |
| 2 | $34,452 | $7,616 | $570,211 |
| 3 | $33,982 | $8,086 | $562,124 |
| 4 | $33,482 | $8,586 | $553,539 |
| 5 | $32,952 | $9,116 | $544,422 |
| 6 | $32,389 | $9,679 | $534,743 |
| 7 | $31,791 | $10,277 | $524,466 |
| 8 | $31,156 | $10,912 | $513,554 |
| 9 | $30,483 | $11,586 | $501,968 |
| 10 | $29,767 | $12,301 | $489,667 |
| 11 | $29,007 | $13,061 | $476,606 |
| 12 | $28,200 | $13,868 | $462,738 |
| 13 | $27,344 | $14,724 | $448,014 |
| 14 | $26,435 | $15,634 | $432,380 |
| 15 | $25,469 | $16,599 | $415,781 |
| 16 | $24,444 | $17,625 | $398,156 |
| 17 | $23,355 | $18,713 | $379,443 |
| 18 | $22,199 | $19,869 | $359,574 |
| 19 | $20,972 | $21,096 | $338,478 |
| 20 | $19,669 | $22,399 | $316,079 |
| 21 | $18,286 | $23,782 | $292,297 |
| 22 | $16,817 | $25,251 | $267,045 |
| 23 | $15,257 | $26,811 | $240,235 |
| 24 | $13,601 | $28,467 | $211,768 |
| 25 | $11,843 | $30,225 | $181,543 |
| 26 | $9,976 | $32,092 | $149,451 |
| 27 | $7,994 | $34,074 | $115,377 |
| 28 | $5,890 | $36,178 | $79,198 |
| 29 | $3,655 | $38,413 | $40,785 |
| 30 | $1,283 | $40,785 | $0 |
Usually 20% of the price for standard lending. Banks can lend some loans with less, and the Kāinga Ora First Home Loan accepts 5% if you meet its income caps. New builds are exempt from the Reserve Bank’s deposit restrictions, so some banks lend more freely on them.
Not any more. The KiwiSaver First Home Grant closed to new applications in May 2024. The KiwiSaver first-home withdrawal and the First Home Loan continue.
Legal or conveyancing fees, a LIM from the council, a building inspection, sometimes a registered valuation the bank asks for, insurance, moving, and any low-deposit fee or margin. Budget a few thousand dollars on top of the deposit.
Yes. Co-buyers apply for the loan together and are usually each responsible for all of it. A property-sharing agreement drawn up by a lawyer sets out who paid what and what happens if someone wants out.
Weekly, fortnightly or monthly repayments and the interest over the loan.
An indicative borrowing limit and a readiness check, from your own figures.
Your balance as a price, and homes at it in the suburb you pick.
What a median home costs against local incomes, town by town.
What your KiwiSaver could put toward a deposit.
Buying with 5–20% deposit, and what it costs.
What it is, what to bring, and how long it lasts.
What extra repayments or a lump sum save.
A rough cost of breaking a fixed rate early.
Whether moving your mortgage pays, after every cost.
Every lender’s advertised rates, side by side.
Advisers and firms near you.
General information, not financial advice. For advice on your situation, talk to a mortgage adviser.