From 1 July, if you’ve been in KiwiSaver for three years and you’re a first home buyer then you can get a first home buyer subsidy.
The first home deposit subsidy is $1,000 for each year you’ve been in KiwiSaver, up to a maximum of $5,000 for five years. If you’re a couple buying a house together and you both qualify for a grant, you could receive a combined grant of up to $10,000.
You can also withdrawal you own KiwiSaver contributions to add to your first home deposit.
To be eligible you must:
- have contributed at least 2% of your income to a KiwiSaver scheme for at least three years,
- be buying your first home,
- be planning to live in the house for at least six months,
- have a combined yearly income of $100,000 or less (before tax) for one or two buyers,
- be buying a house under $400,000 in Auckland City, North Shore and Wellington and $300,000 across rest of New Zealand, including Manukau.
If you earn under $100,000 but have a combined income over $100,000 then you might think about buying in one of your names with your partner paying rent. (As long as the title is only in your name you should be fine.)
Approval
You can get preapproved if you want to confirm your eligibility before you start house hunting. Housing New Zealand will confirm whether your application is successful. Simply complete the application form, ticking the pre-approval option.
Both the withdrawn money and the subsidy are paid directly to the home buyer’s solicitor on settlement day.
