Your first home, step by step.

The usual target is around 20% of the price, but first-home buyers can often get in with less through low-deposit lending, and new-builds are typically treated more favourably. The limits on low-deposit lending move with Reserve Bank settings, so check what's current.

A bigger deposit gives you more choice and a better rate, but waiting to hit 20% while prices and rents rise isn't always the winning move. It's a genuine trade-off worth running the numbers on.

Most KiwiSaver members can withdraw their savings toward a first home after at least three years of membership, leaving a small minimum in the account. For many first-home buyers, KiwiSaver is the bulk of the deposit.

You apply through your provider, not IRD, and the money goes to your solicitor at settlement. Start early — it takes longer than people expect. See our KiwiSaver page for how withdrawals work.

Government support for first-home buyers has taken different forms over the years, and schemes get added, changed and sometimes removed with each government — some through grants, some through lower-deposit lending backed by Kāinga Ora.

Because this area changes often, don't rely on older articles. Check what's currently available on the Kāinga Ora and settled.govt.nz websites before you count on any particular scheme.

Often yes. Banks are allowed a limited amount of low-deposit lending, and there are options aimed at first-home buyers with smaller deposits. New-builds are usually easier to finance with less down.

The trade-offs are a higher interest rate or a low-equity premium, and borrowing more overall. A mortgage adviser can tell you what's realistically available for your deposit and income.

Start by knowing exactly where your money goes for a month — most people find a gap between what they think and what they spend. Then automate: move a set amount to a separate savings account the day you're paid, so it's gone before you can spend it.

Make sure your KiwiSaver contributions and fund type suit a first-home timeframe, and keep the deposit somewhere its value can't drop. Our budgeting page has the practical version.

There's no single number — it depends on the price where you're buying, your deposit, your other debts, and interest rates at the time. Lenders test whether you could handle repayments at a rate higher than you're offered, so affordability is about the gap between your income and your commitments.

Rather than chase a national figure, get a pre-approval or talk to a mortgage adviser — that turns “can I afford it” into an actual number for your situation.

At a minimum, most buyers get a LIM report from the council (which flags consents, drainage and hazards), a builder's or property inspection, and a title check through their lawyer. For apartments and units, read the body corporate records.

These cost a little up front and can save you from an expensive mistake. Your lawyer or conveyancer will guide what's needed for the specific property.

By negotiation, you make an offer and can include conditions like finance or a builder's report, with the usual back-and-forth on price. At auction, the sale is unconditional when the hammer falls — you need finance, checks and deposit sorted beforehand, and there's no cooling-off.

Tender means submitting a written offer by a deadline without knowing what others have offered. Auctions carry the most risk for unprepared buyers, which is why pre-approval and pre-purchase checks matter most there.

Saving the deposit is the long part and varies hugely. Once you're ready, pre-approval takes days to a couple of weeks, house-hunting weeks to months, and from an accepted offer to settlement is often around three to six weeks, though it's negotiable.

The practical tip is to line up finance and your lawyer before you find the place, so you can move quickly when the right one comes up.

Beyond the mortgage, budget for rates, house insurance, maintenance, and body corporate fees for apartments or units. Maintenance is the one first-home buyers underestimate — the repairs are yours now.

A sinking fund for the predictable ones (insurance, rates, the next big repair) turns them from emergencies into non-events. And because the mortgage doesn't stop if your income does, protecting that income is worth sorting early.