Buying guide
NZ government help for first home buyers (2025)
Need a hand from the man?
Last updated: 8 March 2025
Being a first home buyer in one of the world’s least affordable property markets has its downsides. Thankfully, you’re not in this on your own – there’s NZ government help for first home buyers available and plenty of other ways to get a leg up.
To save you a little time and help you get into a home we’ve made a list of all your options.
Government housing initiatives for home buyers
First Home Loans
If you fit the relevant eligibility criteria, you may be able to get a special first home loan with as little as a 5% deposit. These home loans are provided via regular lenders but they’re backed (underwritten) by Kāinga Ora, the government’s housing agency.
Eligibility criteria:
Have at least a 5% deposit.
Be an NZ citizen, permanent resident or visa holder who’s ordinarily resident in NZ.
Have a before-tax income from the last 12 months of $95,000 or less for individual buyers with no dependents, $150,000 or less for an individual buyer with dependents, or $150,000 or less combined for two or more buyers.
You must be buying a property to live in as your main home (you can’t use it as a bach or rental property).
Be buying less than one hectare.
Not own any other land (this doesn’t include Māori land).
You must borrow from a participating lender, which includes Westpac, Kiwibank, The Cooperative Bank, SBS Bank, Unity, NBS and NZHL.
While this may be a great deal, keep in mind that you will have to pay a lender’s mortgage insurance premium of 0.5% of the loan amount. Your repayments and interest rate might also be higher than they would be if you had a 20% deposit.
Need a hand with your deposit?
Kāinga Whenua Loans
These loans are designed to support Māori with their housing goals and remove barriers to them getting finance when building on multiply owned Māori land. For most loans, the bank holds security over your land and your house, but with Kāinga Whenua Loans they only have security over the property. That means if you default they can only sell the buildings on your land to recoup their loan – not the land itself. These loans require no deposits for amounts below $200,000 but you’ll need a 5% deposit for every dollar over that.
These loans are administered by Kiwibank – to find out if you’re eligible for one call them on 0800 272 278.
Tenant home ownership
If you’re currently renting a Kāinga Ora home you could be eligible to purchase that property and receive a grant to help make it happen. The grant is 10% of the property’s purchase price up to a maximum of $20,000.
This isn’t possible in areas where there’s high demand for state houses, including:
Auckland
Wellington City
Christchurch
Hamilton
Tauranga
Note, you’ll still need to borrow from a lender to buy, which means you’ll need to fit their lending criteria. They may check your credit history and income, as well as requiring a deposit to buy the home. Once you’ve got a loan sorted you can buy the house at its current market value (which will be determined by a registered valuer).
Kiwisaver first home withdrawal
If you’re eligible you can withdraw your entire Kiwisaver balance except for $1,000 to help you buy your first home. You may be able to use this as part of your deposit, or to reduce your total loan.
Ready to buy your first home?
The First Home Buyer’s Grant
The coalition government scrapped this initiative in 2023 and it is no longer available. However, there are other ways to get help.
Other ways to get help
There are other ways to get help besides relying on the government. Those include:
Getting a guarantor loan with help from family.
Shared equity home ownership.
In a market like ours here in New Zealand you may need to get a little creative and compromise to get on the ladder – but for many it’s possible with a lot of saving and a little good advice from a financial advisor or mortgage broker.
To help you navigate the process, we recommend you get advice early from a professional that you can trust.
DISCLAIMER: The information contained in this article is general in nature. While facts have been checked, the article does not constitute an advice service. The article is only intended to provide general information about government assistance for first home buyers in NZ. Nothing in this article constitutes a recommendation that any type of property is suitable for any specific person. We cannot assess anything about your personal circumstances, your finances, or your goals and objectives, all of which are unique to you. Before making decisions about property, we highly recommend you seek professional advice.
