The Kiwi dream of the quarter acre block may have dimmed over the last few years, but there are programmes in place to help get you on the property ladder. We set out to investigate what is out there.
The Queenstown Lakes Community Trust
This programme is a lease scheme. The trust owns the land, and you buy a right to occupy the property for the cost of construction and a yearly ground rent. A 100-year lease provides a home for your lifetime with most of the benefits and obligations of a normal landowner except the ability to on sell the property. If you decide to move on, the trust will purchase back the property at the original purchase price with an inflation adjustment.
This scheme is designed to help you save a deposit to purchase your own home. You enter into a five-year lease with rent at market value and agree to a savings goal upfront. If you achieve the goal, the trust will match your savings of up to $2,600 each year. At the end of five years, you can apply to purchase the house you’re living in under the Secure Home Programme.
Kāinga Ora
Most banks today require purchasers to have a 20% deposit before they will approve lending, but the First Home Loan allows you to purchase a property with just 5% deposit. The loans are with participating banks only and underwritten by Kāinga Ora.
First Home Grant (Homestart Grant)
If you’ve been in KiwiSaver for more than three years you could be eligible to receive $1,000 for each year you’ve contributed (up to a maximum of $5,000) from Kāinga Ora. If the property is a newly built home or land to build on, you are eligible to receive $2,000 per year up to a maximum of $10,000. There are certain eligibility requirements:
- You will need to live in the house for at least 6 months.
- You need at least 5% deposit which can include the grant and your KiwiSaver, as well as any family gifts (but not bank loans).
- You will need to be below an income threshold. For individuals, you’ll need to earn less than $95,000 per annum; and couples less than $150,000 per annum.
- The property also needs to be under a regional house price cap. For Queenstown Lakes this is $875,000 for existing homes and $925,000 for new homes.
This is a shared ownership scheme to help buyers whose deposit and home loan together isn’t quite enough to purchase a property. Kāinga Ora will assist you but it will retain a share in your property. For example, you save 10% of the purchase price and the bank will lend you 75%. That leaves a 15% gap. Kāinga Ora will contribute the remaining 15% and retain a 15% share of home ownership with you. You will be obliged to buy Kāinga Ora out to the property over time, with a deadline of a maximum of 25 years.