Your first home buyers guide

If you are starting to think about buying your first home then we have heaps of handy information to help here. The first key step to buying a home is working out what you want and what you can afford. This will help you work out how much you will need to save to turn your dream of buying a home into a reality. 

To get a home loan your deposit will generally have to be 20% of the property's value – but it all depends on your individual situation. Buyers may be able to get into a home sooner with a deposit as little as 10%.

When buying your first home, the amount you can afford to spend on a house will depend on how much you earn and the expenses you will need to pay. Factors that contribute to how much you can afford to borrow include but are not limited to the following; your income (individual or joint), living costs, number of people supported by your income, KiwiSaver contributions and interest rates. Use our home loan borrowing calculator to see what you could afford to borrow. 

To withdraw your KiwiSaver funds to buy your first home, you need to check you are eligible and have a sale and purchase agreement showing you as the purchaser.

If you are eligible, tell your lawyer that you would like to make a KiwiSaver first home buyers withdrawal and they will guide you through the process.

You will need to complete an application, which can take up to 10 days to be processed. For more information see our KiwiSaver first home withdrawal page.

To apply for a First Home Grant you need to check you are eligible. 

If you are eligible, there are two ways to apply:

• Pre-approval – if you are still looking for a home to purchase
• Full approval – if you have found a home you would like to buy
  

For more information or to apply, check out the First Home Grant page on the Kᾱinga Ora website.

To get started you can apply for pre-approval online, over the phone, at any ASB branch or one of our Home Ownership Managers.