Most banks prefer a 20% deposit, but other options exist. We compare multiple lenders, check your options and explain the costs before you decide.
Yes. A high loan-to-value ratio is common for first-home buyers, and lenders have room for it.
Yes. A low deposit home loan generally means borrowing over 80% of the property's value, giving you a high loan-to-value ratio, or LVR.
As at September 2026, Reserve Bank LVR rules allow banks to have up to 25% of new owner-occupier lending above 80% LVR, although banks still apply their own lending criteria. Kāinga Ora First Home Loans are exempt from the RBNZ LVR restrictions. In June 2026, just over half of first home buyer lending by value was above 80% LVR, meaning those buyers had less than a 20% deposit.
Three ways first home buyers can get onto the property market with less than 20%.
Some banks may consider owner-occupier lending with less than a 20% deposit, depending on the borrower, property, and lender criteria.
Lower-deposit lending may include stricter approval requirements, higher costs, or low-equity margins. Some 5% deposit options may be available through specific first-home buyer options.
If you have been a KiwiSaver member for at least three years and meet the eligibility criteria, you may be able to withdraw most of your KiwiSaver savings to help buy your first home. You must leave at least $1,000 in your KiwiSaver account, and the property must be a home you intend to live in, not an investment property.
Loans used to build a new home, or to buy a newly built home from the developer within six months of completion, are generally exempt from Reserve Bank LVR and debt-to-income restrictions. Lenders will still apply their own approval, deposit, servicing, valuation, and property criteria.
Buying sooner can be the right move, but it's important to understand the extra costs associated with a lower deposit and the steps you can take to reduce them over time.
A low equity margin is an additional interest rate margin some lenders add to your normal home loan rate when you borrow more than 80% of the property's value.
This means your repayments can be higher while the margin applies.
A low equity premium is another way some lenders charge for low-deposit lending. Depending on the lender, this may be a one-off fee or an interest rate premium.
Some lenders may allow a one-off premium or fee to be added to the loan, but this means you may also pay interest on that amount over time.
Some lenders reserve their best advertised rates for borrowers with at least a 20% deposit or equity.
This means buying with a lower deposit may limit your access to the sharpest rates until your equity position improves.
When you have a smaller deposit, lenders look more closely at the rest of your application. The stronger your income, savings history, account conduct, and overall position, the better your chances of approval.
We help you build the strongest application possible by:
In short, we help match you with the right lender, strengthen your overall application, and make the low-deposit buying process clearer and easier from start to finish.
Call Sarah on 022 305 5696 or send your details through. We'll review your deposit, income, and available options, then come back to you with clear next steps as soon as possible.
Four steps from where you are now to the keys.
Book a Free ChatWe review your deposit, income, expenses, debts, account conduct, and future plans so we can understand what may be possible.
We compare the lender and deposit options available to you, including standard bank lending, low-deposit loan options, and any other approach that may better suit your situation.
We prepare and present your mortgage pre-approval application clearly, including the information lenders need to assess your position.
Once approved, we help manage lender questions, approval conditions, and the finance process through to settlement.
Sarah is super helpful and easy to work with, she actively communicated and answered all of my silly questions quickly. Highly recommend her for first home buyers and buyers in general. Great to work with and very informed!
Sarah was absolutely amazing in guiding us through the process as first home buyers. She truly went above and beyond, taking the time to answer all of our (sometimes silly!) questions and making sure we felt supported every step of the way. She was always available to help, even on weekends, whether by call or text, which made such a stressful process feel so much easier. We would highly recommend Sarah and couldn’t have asked for a better experience.
Sarah been amazing to deal with! She has helped my partner and I get into our first home. She answered all our thousands of questions! Which really helped us understand the process :) (thanks Sarah!!)
I had the pleasure of working with Sarah as my mortgage advisor for purchasing my first home, and I couldn’t be more grateful for her support throughout the process. From the very beginning, she was extremely helpful and transparent, explaining every detail in a way that made everything clear and easy to understand. I thought it would be a stressful and overwhelming experience but it was smooth and straightforward thanks to her guidance. She made the whole journey feel effortless. I would highly recommend Sarah to anyone looking for a reliable and supportive mortgage advisor.
Sarah has gone above and beyond for us and has been an amazing support while we were buying our first home! She was always available to answer any of our weird and wonderful questions and was super knowledgeable about all aspects of the process. We cannot thank her or recommend her enough! Thanks Sarah :-)
Sarah was awesome to deal with and helped us get into our first home :) She was super flexible with meeting times and uses google meets so that we could take the meeting from anywhere. Sarah is super friendly and no question was a dumb question for her, which made us feel really comfortable. She explained each step of the process really clearly and helped us apply for a home loan with the banks, fix our home loan and will be following us up when its time to re-fix. 10/10!
A low deposit home loan is when you buy a home with less than a 20% deposit.
This usually means your loan is more than 80% of the property's value, which is known as a higher LVR, or loan-to-value ratio.
Because there is less equity in the property, approval is not automatic. Lenders will look closely at your income, expenses, existing debts, credit history, account conduct, and the property you want to buy.
Banks are also limited in how much high-LVR lending they can approve, so the right lender and application structure can make a real difference.
Potentially, yes.
Eligible first-home buyers may be able to buy with a minimum 5% deposit through a Kāinga Ora First Home Loan. These loans are issued by selected lenders and underwritten by Kāinga Ora, which allows participating lenders to offer loans that may sit outside their normal lending standards.
Some lenders may also consider low-deposit applications outside the Kāinga Ora scheme, but this depends on the lender, the strength of your application, the property, and whether the lender has appetite for high-LVR lending at the time.
A 5% deposit does not guarantee approval. You still need to meet the lender's affordability, credit, account conduct, income, deposit, and property requirements.
You may qualify for a Kāinga Ora First Home Loan if you are a first-home buyer, or a previous home owner in a similar financial position to a first-home buyer.
You must be buying a home you intend to live in, meet the citizenship or residency requirements, and meet the income limits.
A 1.2% Lender's Mortgage Insurance premium applies to First Home Loans. This can usually be paid upfront or added to the loan. This insurance protects the lender, not you.
You still need to meet the lender's normal affordability, credit, deposit, and property requirements.
Yes, it may be possible to buy a house with a 10% deposit in New Zealand.
A 10% deposit means you are borrowing around 90% of the property's value, so the loan is considered low-equity or high-LVR lending.
Banks may consider lending above 80% of the property's value and each lender applies its own approval criteria.
Your income, existing debts, spending habits, account conduct, deposit history, credit history, and the property itself can all affect the outcome.
This is where working with a mortgage adviser can help, as we can compare lenders and structure your application properly before you apply.
LVR stands for loan-to-value ratio. It shows how much you are borrowing compared with the property's value.
To calculate it, divide the loan amount by the property value, then multiply by 100.
For example, if you borrow $540,000 to buy a $600,000 property, your LVR is 90%. This means you have a 10% deposit or equity in the property.
When you borrow more than 80% of the property's value, the lender may charge extra because the loan is considered higher risk.
This extra cost can be charged in different ways, depending on the lender.
A low equity margin is usually an additional interest rate margin added to your normal home loan rate while your loan remains above the lender's equity threshold.
A low equity premium may be charged differently depending on the lender. In some cases, it may be a one-off fee. In other cases, it may work more like an interest rate premium.
Some lenders may also limit access to their best advertised rates until you have more equity in the property.
The exact cost, structure, and removal rules vary by lender. This is where a mortgage broker can help by comparing the options, explaining the real cost, and helping you understand which lender may be the best fit for your situation.
No. The First Home Grant is no longer available. Kāinga Ora stopped accepting new First Home Grant applications at 1pm on 22 May 2024.
This was the cash grant that some first-home buyers previously used alongside their deposit.
The Kāinga Ora First Home Loan and KiwiSaver first-home withdrawal are separate options and may still be available to eligible buyers.
No. There is currently no Kāinga Ora house price cap for the First Home Loan.
However, the property must still be acceptable to the lender. This means the lender will assess things like the property's valuation, location, size, condition, insurability, and whether it meets their normal lending criteria.
Income caps and other First Home Loan eligibility requirements still apply.
It depends on the lender and the type of loan you are applying for.
A consistent savings history can strengthen your application, because it shows the lender that you can manage money and put funds aside regularly.
However, your deposit does not always need to come only from savings. Depending on the lender, acceptable deposit sources may include KiwiSaver, gifted funds, proceeds from selling an asset, or other funds you can clearly evidence.
We check what the lender will accept, what evidence they need, and how to present your deposit history clearly as part of the application.
You do not need to wait until you have a 20% deposit before asking what may be possible.
We'll help you understand your deposit position, what information lenders are likely to consider, and which low-deposit options may be worth exploring based on your situation.
We're available 8am to 8pm, seven days. There's no obligation, and the first conversation usually takes around 20 minutes. From there, we can let you know what information we need, explain your possible next steps, and help you determine whether a low-deposit loan may be realistic for you.
