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Lenders will usually require you to front up with a deposit of 20% of the purchase price for an existing property – 10% if it’s a new build – before they’ll consider giving you a mortgage on it. If you’ve been saving hard only to have your deposit goal feel like it’s getting further out of reach – or you just don’t want to have to wait years and years (and years) to get into your first home – there are options out there.

Launchpad allows deposits of as low as 5%, and is aimed at helping first home buyers who have good incomes but not enough deposit to meet the 20% often demanded by trading banks, or who don’t qualify for the Government’s Kāinga Ora scheme.

If there’s one thing we’ve been brutally reminded of this year, it’s that we live in an ever-changing world. Some things may never be the same. However, the world continues to turn, and people will continue to buy houses. Now more than ever it's important to line up those ducks to be bank ready.

There’s been a lot written about the 'First Home Loan’ programme in the press recently, particularly around changes to the deposit requirements. We thought it would be a good time to cut through some of the noise around these loans and explain what it means for your average first home buyer.