Podcast: What does the Government's announcement mean for first home buyers?

Just under a quarter of property buyers in New Zealand are first home buyers. But for so many hopeful buyers, the stumbling blocks on the way to home ownership are just too huge. Especially for those spending a large amount of income on rent.

On Tuesday, the Government made moves to swing the balance in favour of first home buyers and to help curb the housing market. The bright-line test has been doubled from 5 years to 10 years, which means second or multiple homes sold within a set timeframe could be taxed.

As well as extending a policy that was already there, they announced an increase to the income caps and house price caps for the first home grant initiative. (You can find more information on this on our first home buyers a-z).

Newsroom’s Alexia Russell sat down with Chief Squirrel JB (John Bolton) to chat about what these changes mean for first home buyers. Does it remove the stumbling blocks, or is it still hard as ever for young Kiwis to get onto the property ladder? Are there going to be any unintentional consequences?

Listen to the full podcast interview.

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