Kiwi First Home Buyers

22/03/2026

Ever wondered how global events like the Middle East conflict impact your mortgage rates in New Zealand? We've got you covered! Check out our latest summary to understand the connection: https://kiwiedition.co.nz/how-the-middle-east-conflict-affects-mortgage-rates/

18/03/2026

KiwiSaver Changes from 1st April
This is NOT a April Fools joke. The default contribution rate for both employers and employees will rise from 3% to 3.5% from 1 April.
You can of course contribute more.
https://www.business.govt.nz/.../kiwisaver-changes-on-1...?

16/03/2026

What's Happening Across the Ditch?

It's always interesting to see what is happening for first home buyers elsewhere – link in Australia.
The average first home buyer has a bigger home loan ($480,000) and bigger deposit ($76,800 = 16%) than they did just a few years ago.
They are also looking at alternative ways to fund their first homes which includes the Federal Government’s Help to Buy scheme which is similar to the First Home Partners that we had in New Zealand a couple of years ago.

Buying with a partner, smaller deposits and accessing support schemes among the options now in the mix for first time purchasers.

16/03/2026

Do you receive Working for Families?

The Working for Families abatement threshold and abatement rate will increase on 1 April. The abatement threshold is the income level where your entitlement starts to reduce due to the amount you earn. The abatement rate is the rate at which your entitlement decreases.

Income-testing for Best Start payments will also be extended to include the first year of entitlement.

These may be small adjustments, but they can make a difference.
https://www.ird.govt.nz/working-for-families/types/family-tax-credit

Do you receive Working for Families?

The Working for Families abatement threshold and abatement rate will increase on 1 April. The abatement threshold is the income level where your entitlement starts to reduce due to the amount you earn. The abatement rate is the rate at which your entitlement decreases.

Income-testing for Best Start payments will also be extended to include the first year of entitlement.

Find out more about all upcoming changes: ird.govt.nz/budget-2025

12/03/2026

First Home Buyers.... let's get started

When you are getting started it is often hard to know where to start.
Our suggestion is always to speak with an adviser and there are a couple of reasons:
• An adviser should not charge you, or at least none of the advisers at Mortgage Managers do,
• Advisers also know the process and order that you need to get things done,
• Plus the finance is an important part to buying your first home.

That means you can get a good idea of what is possible and what you should be doing before you spend a cent.
Have a read here too: https://mortgagemanagers.co.nz/first-home-buyers/

11/03/2026

Why do over 70% of Kiwis use brokers now? We address the bank vs broker question here and explain why this is an important decision for first home buyers.

https://mortgagemanagers.co.nz/bank-vs-broker/

10/03/2026

The Government have said they will be removing the barriers that prevent many farm and other rural workers from using their KiwiSaver accounts to buy their first homes.

The key thing is people with employer provided housing were not able to use their KiwiSaver as they were not going to live in the house, and that meant many people were locked out of the housing market while employed with that perk. It included farm workers, shearers and other rural workers, rural school teachers, rural nurses and police plus others like in tourism (lodges, park workers etc) and defence staff.

This will open more doors but it might be 2027 before it's available.

Have a read here:

09/03/2026

Changes for Service Tenancy Workers

Workers in service tenancies have effectively been locked out of first-home withdrawal because their jobs require them to live in employer-provided housing, and so the Government is tweaking KiwiSaver laws so workers with “live-in” job residences. This includes a huge number of Kiwis such as farmers and rural farm related workers, rural school teachers and country cops. It's not just rural people as there are a number of people in tourism, hospitality, park workers and also many defence personnel who have accommodation provided as part of their employment.

Read about the changes and share with people that may be affected:https://mortgagemanagers.co.nz/first-home-withdrawals-for-service-tenancy-workers/

27/02/2026

Many first home buyers start with a low deposit - under 20%.

But reaching 20% equity is a transformative step and it opens doors to better financial opportunities, from improved loan terms to potential savings on interest and you can also refinance to a better home loan.

Is that your goal?
Reach out and we can help you with that.

https://mortgagemanagers.co.nz/reaching-20-equity/

27/02/2026

Confidence is up.
Will house prices follow?
We expect they will, but when and how much will they increase by over 2026?

More New Zealanders are putting their faith back into the housing market.

27/02/2026

Always good to review this type of information.

We have started doing Stock Reviews and this one is on the EMCOR Group.

We hope that this adds value to your investment journey.

25/02/2026

It’s not uncommon to be rejected by a bank for your home loan application, but that’s where it is important to know what options you have.

You need to know that a “NO” from a bank doesn’t mean you’re out of options – it just means that you need to explore other options.

https://mortgagemanagers.co.nz/what-are-your-options-when-the-bank-says-no/