Buying property in New Zealand
Find out who can buy residential property in New Zealand, how to find, buy or build a home, and what costs may be part of the process.
Who can buy property in New Zealand
Generally, you can only buy residential property in New Zealand if you are a citizen, or a resident who meets certain criteria. You may also require consent from Land Information New Zealand before you can buy.
The Land Information New Zealand website has helpful information about who can buy property on its website. The information is available in English, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, Hindi, Korean, and Afrikaans.
Buying a home in New Zealand — Land Information New Zealand
Buying a property
New Zealand has a mix of housing types, from standalone buildings on a block of land (section) to attached townhouses and apartments.
If you choose to buy a section, there are different options for building a home. There are also different types of land ownership. The type of ownership has an impact on what you can and cannot do with the property, so it is important to understand what you are buying.
Buying residential property to live in — Land Information New Zealand
All New Zealand homes are at some risk of damage from natural hazards, so you need to consider this when deciding where to live.
Buying a home — Natural Hazards Commission Toka Tū Ake
The independent and government-backed consumer website settled.govt.nz has more information about buying and building a home in New Zealand.
Buying a home — settled.govt.nz
How to buy a property
The process for buying a property in New Zealand is well organised and regulated to ensure a fair process for both sides.
It can take as little as 3 to 4 weeks to complete the process of buying a house in New Zealand, once you have found the place you want. After a bid is formally accepted, there can be no last-minute offers, unlike other countries.
Most home and land sales are completed using a real estate agent. A smaller number of sales are made privately. In either case, it is wise to get independent advice from a lawyer or 'conveyancer' who is experienced in home buying before you make an offer.
You can find a lawyer using the New Zealand Law Society website, or a conveyancer using the New Zealand Society of Conveyancers website.
The settled.govt.nz website explains the New Zealand property buying and selling process, including what to expect from a real estate agent.
Understanding the home buying journey — settled.govt.nz
Making an offer — settled.govt.nz
Find a lawyer or organisation — New Zealand Law Society
Find a conveyancing firm — New Zealand Society of Conveyancers
Cost of housing
It is common to negotiate on the price when buying a house.
Advertisements usually show either an RV (rateable value), GV (government valuation) or CV (council valuation) figure. These figures refer to the valuation used by the local council to calculate rates (council tax) for the property. They are not registered valuations, and they often do not reflect the property's true market value.
You can ask a registered valuer to provide an independent valuation for a property you are interested in. You have to pay for this, but it will be more accurate because it will consider things like sales in the area, the type of property, its features and what the house is made of.
Finding a property
A good place to start looking for properties is online. Property websites have listings from both real estate agents and private vendors. Some properties are only listed on the agents' own websites or in brochures available in the local area.
Properties that are for sale will usually have a sign outside giving details about the property and who to contact.
Paying rates
If you are buying or building a home, you will need to include rates (council taxes) in your budgeting.
Rates are a 'tax' charged by local councils to help pay for the services they provide the community. Rates vary from place to place, but they are always based on the value of the property.
Homeowners, including landlords, pay rates — but tenants do not.
Your local council's website will have more information about the rates in the area you are thinking of buying in.
Borrowing money to buy a property
All the major banks in New Zealand offer home loans (mortgages). You can contact the banks directly, and many have a migrant banking service with multilingual staff. You can also work through mortgage brokers who negotiate with the banks on your behalf.
As a new arrival, you will not have a credit history, so make sure you bring some evidence of your credit history in your home country. For more about banking and mortgages in New Zealand see our 'Banking in New Zealand' page.
You usually need a good deposit to get a home loan as there are restrictions on how much of a property's value banks can lend you. They are called the loan-to-value ratio requirements (LVR). The Reserve Bank has a document you can download that outlines the LVR rules.
Loan-to-valuation ratio restrictions — Reserve Bank
Home insurance
In New Zealand, home insurance is usually calculated on a 'sum insured' basis. This means that if your home needs to be rebuilt, the insurer will only pay out to the maximum sum that you choose when you take out your policy.
You need to have a good idea of what it would cost to replace your home. You may need to get a valuation to decide how much this would be. Most insurance company websites have online calculators.
The sorted.org website has more information on calculating home insurance.
Earthquake damage to homes in New Zealand is covered by the Natural Hazards Commission. Its charges are automatically added to your home insurance invoice. However, to qualify for this earthquake cover you must first have private home or contents insurance.
About natural hazards cover — Natural Hazards Commission Toka Tū Ake
If you are buying an apartment, insurance for the building will normally be included in the annual body corporate fee. Make sure you check the details of this before you purchase. You will need to provide your own contents insurance.