Bay of Plenty Times
  • Bay of Plenty Times home
  • Latest news
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
  • Sport
  • Video
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Residential property listings
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
  • Sport

Locations

  • Coromandel & Hauraki
  • Katikati
  • Tauranga
  • Mount Maunganui
  • Pāpāmoa
  • Te Puke
  • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua

Media

  • Video
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-Editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

Weather

  • Thames
  • Tauranga
  • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Premium
Home / Bay of Plenty Times

Jo Raphael: First-home buyers need to lower expectations

Jo Raphael
By Jo Raphael
Rotorua Daily Post·
17 Mar, 2021 08:00 PM3 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

    Reminder, this is a Premium article and requires a subscription to read.

OneRoof's Need to Know host Frances Cook on how to get a foot on the property ladder in a rising market. Video / OneRoof

OPINION

I sometimes wonder if people's expectations of getting on to the property ladder are over-inflated.

Well-appointed chef's kitchens, sculleries, ensuites and internal garages may be the gold standard, but for first-home buyers these amenities may be just out of reach - a few rungs higher up the ladder.

We reported last week that first-home buyers are having to save $24,000 more for a deposit for a median-price house than they did a year ago. In Tauranga, it's $33,000.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

That's extra – on top of what they previously needed.

Value can be added to lower-quality properties. Photo / Getty Images
Value can be added to lower-quality properties. Photo / Getty Images

It's news that makes one 19-year-old, who has the aspirational hope of buying her own home by the time she turns 25, think about moving to Australia for a better chance of home ownership.

It seems a bit drastic to me, and perhaps other options should be exhausted before making the move across the ditch.

While median house prices have risen, as has the amount of money needed for a deposit, smaller, more modest homes can still be found for sale.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

A quick search on OneRoof.co.nz for a modest two-bedroom unit in a modest Rotorua suburb reveals one property listed at "inquiries over $299,000", which, if you were to secure the property for $300,000, would make the 20 per cent deposit $60,000 - half the deposit required for the median house price in Rotorua of $617,000.

While scraping together a deposit of $60k may seem daunting for some, there are KiwiSaver first-home buyer grants, using KiwiSaver savings for a first home withdrawal or Welcome Home loans to look into.

Discover more

Jo Raphael: March 15 terror - we hope this never happens again

14 Mar 08:00 PM
New Zealand

Jo Raphael: Aucklanders who escape lockdown are putting us at risk

03 Mar 08:00 PM

Jo Raphael: Our child poverty shame is letting us down

28 Feb 07:00 PM

Jo Raphael: Let's remove all barriers to Covid vaccinations

14 Feb 08:00 PM

Kainga Ora even offers first home loans with deposits as low as five per cent to those who qualify.

And while these lower-priced homes may not be the most luxurious or the most modern, perhaps the strategy for young people looking to get on the property ladder could be to purchase a lower-priced house, hold on to it for a while, perhaps add value through small affordable upgrades such as drapes, carpets and fresh paint.

Then, when they are ready to move up the ladder, sell and move on either to the next bracket of home, or even their dream home.

All hope is not lost. Perhaps the expectations need to be lowered.

Save

    Share this article

    Reminder, this is a Premium article and requires a subscription to read.

Latest from Bay of Plenty Times

Bay of Plenty Times

Feet first: Why two men are walking from Auckland to Te Puke

Bay of Plenty Times

New children’s series filmed in Bay of Plenty premieres this weekend

Bay of Plenty Times

Police appeal for witnesses after deadly SH1 crash near Taupō


Sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Bay of Plenty Times

Feet first: Why two men are walking from Auckland to Te Puke
Bay of Plenty Times

Feet first: Why two men are walking from Auckland to Te Puke

They aim to raise awareness for mental health and support The Hub's work.

19 Jul 02:23 AM
New children’s series filmed in Bay of Plenty premieres this weekend
Bay of Plenty Times

New children’s series filmed in Bay of Plenty premieres this weekend

19 Jul 12:00 AM
Police appeal for witnesses after deadly SH1 crash near Taupō
Bay of Plenty Times

Police appeal for witnesses after deadly SH1 crash near Taupō

18 Jul 11:25 PM


Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky
Sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

06 Jul 09:47 PM
NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • Bay of Plenty Times e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Bay of Plenty Times
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP