The First Home Buyers Club

13/09/2026

🏡 Find Your First Home at Fletcher Living's Albany Open Day!

📅 Sat 19 September, 12pm–2pm
📍 1/2 Parapara Place, Albany

☕🍰 Enjoy a free hot drink + sweet treat from Whipped Cakery while you explore our modern new 1–3 bedroom unit homes, perfectly priced from $559k - an ideal entry point into Albany for first‑home buyers.

These homes offer easy, low‑maintenance living, just moments from Westfield Albany, the Mega Centre, supermarkets, cinemas, cafés and eateries. 🚶‍♀️🛍️

💬 They will have a mortgage broker on-site from Flax Financial, providing guidance on your first steps onto the property ladder.

👯‍♀️ Bring a friend, register your details, and go in the draw to WIN a $150 Fields Café voucher - it might just become your new local. ☕💛

https://www.facebook.com/events/1598596128604316/

10/09/2026

First home buyers are now the biggest group in NZ's housing market, ahead of investors, movers, and upgraders for the first time since records began in 2005.

They make up 29% of buyers nationally (31% in Auckland, 37% in Wellington). A few things are driving it: prices are down from their 2022 peak, fewer investors are competing for the same properties, low-deposit loans are more accessible, and housing supply has caught up after years of building.

If buying your first home is on the cards for you, having a considered and long term plan is important. We’re here to help make the dream a reality.

Long considered the minnows of the property market, first home buyers are now buying more houses than investors, movers or upgraders.

06/09/2026

If elected, National would increase the income threshold so anyone earning less than $300,000 combined could access it - whether that was single income or combined income.

Housing spokesperson Chris Bishop said many would-be first home buyers could afford to service a mortgage, but struggled to get together a deposit.

National is promising to help more people buy their first home by expanding access to the government's low-deposit scheme, if it's re-elected.

14/08/2026

🔑 Your first home in Kaipātiki, Glenfield — from $749k

A brand-new Freehold 2-bedroom home in a peaceful, established pocket of the North Shore, right next to Witheford Reserve, with public transport and local amenities close at hand.

✅ Open-plan living, dining & kitchen
✅ Heat pump + security alarm — no surprise costs
✅ Allocated car park
✅ 10 Year Master Build Guarantee — total peace of mind
✅ Eligible first home buyers can get a $10K grant towards their deposit*

With the Government's First Home Grant gone, Fletcher Living is stepping in to help Kiwis still get on the property ladder.

👇️ Find your new home today at the link below in the comments.

*T&Cs apply

Find out more about our 2 bedroom home at 19 Taiko Lane, Glenfield, Kaipatiki - Glenfield, Auckland. View images, floorplans, pricing, and contact information here.

12/08/2026

We're big advocates for building an emergency buffer 💪

Whether you're saving hard to ring-fence your first home deposit, or you've just settled into your new place — having a buffer between you and life's curveballs makes a real difference. Car repair, vet bill, unexpected bill... it happens.
org.nz have just launched Buffer builder — a free app that grows your emergency savings automatically. Pay yourself first, round up your spending, or top up when you can. Set it and forget it.

Worth a look if "emergency fund" has been sitting on your to-do list for a while 👇
https://www.stuff.co.nz/money/361016785/small-tool-could-reduce-your-money-stress

11/08/2026

🏡 Found "the one"? Here's what happens next...

Making an offer is exciting — and nerve-wracking. Before you sign anything, here's what you need to know:

✅ Get a solicitor BEFORE you sign — once a Sale & Purchase Agreement is accepted, it's hard to change
✅ Always include a finance clause — even with pre-approval! Your pre-approval is conditional on the bank accepting the property itself
✅ Building report + LIM report — protect yourself from nasty surprises hiding in the walls (or the council file)
✅ You can negotiate — the asking price is just a starting point

The offer stage is where good groundwork pays off. Rushing it (or skipping conditions) is how people end up stuck.

Our full guide [at the link in the comments below] walks you through exactly what to include, how much to offer, and what happens after you submit 👇

03/08/2026

🏡 Pre-approval ≠ done deal.

Got a pre-approval? Great start — but it's not a guarantee, and it's not tied to a property yet. That only happens once you're in a live deal: an actual offer, on an actual house, assessed by the bank.

The difference matters more than you'd think:
✅ Pre-approvals are conditional and usually only last ~3 months
✅ Live deals depend on the property passing the bank's criteria too (valuation, title, insurance, condition)
✅ Keeping an eye on your pre-approval expiry is important to avoid any hiccups mid-search.

Know where you stand before you make an offer by reviewing our guide at the link in the comments. 👇

02/08/2026

We've been quietly building out our New Build Directory — and it's grown into a proper tool for first home buyers. 🏡 🏗️

Save your favourites. Register interest directly. Filter by price, region, and bedrooms. Get monthly alerts when new listings match what you're looking for. Even compare developments side-by-side before you commit to anything.

144 new builds (and growing), NZ wide, from $449k.

Have a look at the link in the comment below 👇

Find new build properties for first home buyers in Auckland and across New Zealand. House and land packages, turnkey homes, and apartments.

22/07/2026

🏡 Good news for aspiring first home buyers: Auckland Council has voted 17–5 to back the more ambitious of two housing intensification options, opening up greater zoned capacity near key train and bus corridors across the city.

A bit of context: this is the outcome of six years of back-and-forth. The original plan would have enabled around 2 million homes — but the government has cut that requirement twice since, first to 1.6 million, then to 1.4 million. So while this week's decision is a step down from where things started, it's still the stronger of the two options councillors had in front of them, and a real increase in housing capacity above today's rules.

More zoned capacity means more choice and more competition among developers — both of which help ease pressure on prices over time. The plan now heads to public submissions before final decisions in mid-2027.

📖 Full story:

The vote, at a planning committee meeting yesterday, locks in the council's position for the next year on the Government's directive to zone for more homes.

20/07/2026

Buying your first home can feel overwhelming — but you don’t have to figure it all out alone. 🏠

Whether you need hands-on support from one of our First Home Advisers or trusted guidance through each key stage of the buying process, The First Home Buyers Club is here to help you every step of the way.

From understanding your deposit and KiwiSaver through to finance, house hunting, making an offer and settlement, discover the support available to help you move forward with confidence.

Read our article covering the ways The First Home Buyers Club can support you through the first home buying journey at the link in the comments.