Abeera Dhaliwal, 27, has bought her first home. She is pictured with salesperson Chander Sandhu. Photo / Supplied
It has been another busy and interesting year in our region. We revisit some of our most popular premium stories from 2022. Originally published on November 17.
Twenty-seven-year-old Abeera Dhaliwal worked two jobs, forwent shopping, concerts, and parties with friends for 10 years to save up $35,000 towards her first home.
Now, she says it is the "best feeling in the world" to have a house of her own.
Dhaliwal found her home despite a downturn in the property market - new data shows activity among Kiwi first-home buyers fell to its lowest level since 2011.
And she might not be alone as property experts notice more new buyers coming through despite continued affordability pressures, tight lending rules, and higher mortgage rates and prices.
Dhaliwal said that while it was hard saving money for a deposit on a first home, it was not impossible. The house is a three-bedroom newly-furnished property in Rotorua's Western Heights.
Dhaliwal said she saved about $35,000 over 10 years and wanted to invest it in buying her first home.
"I wanted to get into the market and as soon as I got an opportunity I took it."
Dhaliwal said she saved money by working both a full-time and part-time job.
She also compromised by not going to concerts and parties with her friends and going shopping, she said.
"But hey, look at me now.
"I agree it's hard to save money but it's not impossible. The earlier you start the better off you will be."
Dhaliwal said she was not sure how she would celebrate once she got the keys.
"I'm a little nervous and excited at the same time," she said.
"It's the best feeling in the world to have a house of your own.
"You can decorate it the way you want and I don't have to stress about my future as I know I've got a roof over my head. Which opens me up to take more opportunities and risks."
Her advice to other people thinking of buying their first home was to "manage your money, do your research, inspect the property, get a good lawyer and get going".
"The time is now."
For Dhaliwal, buying her first home was also about female empowerment.
The vendor, who would only be known as Mahia, was 26 years old when she bought the house as her first home in 2018. Now, Dhaliwal has bought it as her first home at age 27.
"Every woman's success should be an inspiration to another," Mahia said.
Mahia accepted Dhaliwal's offer as the pair shared similar journeys onto the property ladder, she said.
"There is no other feeling quite like purchasing your first home."
CoreLogic's biannual First Home Buyer report, released last week, showed 3750 first-time purchases in New Zealand were made in the three months to September. It was the lowest figure for that quarter of the year since 2011.
In Tauranga, 118 first-home buyer purchases were completed during the same period. That was slightly more than 115 in the previous quarter but down on the long-term average of 215.
In Rotorua, there were 15 first-home buyer purchases in Q3, slightly more than 13 in Q2 but down on the long-term average of 19.
First-home buyers in Tauranga paid a median of just above $800,000 in Q3 and $600,000 in Rotorua.
Real Estate Institute of New Zealand data released on Tuesday showed Tauranga's median house price dropped $55,000 in the last month to $900,000. Rotorua's dropped 0.1 per cent to $659,500.
CoreLogic's head of research Nick Goodall said first-home buyer purchases made up 15 per cent of sales in Q3 in Tauranga, which showed it was not an active market for people seeking a foot on the property ladder compared to nationwide figures.
"This is also low for the area ... No doubt the higher average price in Tauranga plays a part here, making it harder for first-home buyers to both save for the required deposit and service a mortgage at current rates."
Rotorua's first-home buyer share was 25 per cent in Q3 but it was a smaller sample size.
CoreLogic's chief property economist Kelvin Davidson said continued affordability pressures, tight lending rules, and higher mortgage rates were a factor.
However, there was a flicker of confidence re-emerging among first-home buyers even in a testing credit environment, he said.
"We suspect some of these recent buyers had previously held back as prices fell, but have now started to see value again – maybe even some genuine 'bargains' – and are prepared to make a purchase even if house prices haven't fully found the floor just yet."
But Davidson said that with inflation, an expected rise of the official cash rate, and home loan interest rates rising again, typical mortgage rates were likely to climb and would be a "stern test" for many would-be first-home buyers.
Ray White Rotorua real estate salesperson Chander Sandhu said many people messaged him after NZME published an article about how 23-year-old Raj Nakura bought his first home without KiwiSaver.
Sandhu said people were "100 per cent straight up" inspired by Nakura's story.
He said he received messages from buyers who were nowhere near ready to buy but were ready to start.
"That's the first step every buyer needs to take."
Sandhu said there was a lot of anxiety from first-home buyers and many who believed they will not be able to get into their first home.
But he noticed more wanting to get onto the property ladder in the last few months.
Now was a good time as there was plenty of choice on the market compared to last year and prices were starting to come down, he said.
"There are plenty of amazing stories of people getting their keys to their first home.
"Buyers are out there and it can be done. It is a slippery property ladder but people like Abeera and Mahia are an example that you can absolutely climb it."
Sandhu said many first-home buyers missed out on properties from time to time for many reasons.
"But once they received that phone call that they have got a home that is what makes my job really special. Those phone calls are the best days."
His advice to first-home buyers was to talk to a professional.
Managing director of the Realty Group, which operates Eves and Bayleys, Heath Young said sales volumes were down compared to long-term averages across all buyer categories.
"The higher interest rates and credit criteria are certainly having an impact on first-home buyers, however, from a positive perspective, buyers are seeing more favourable prices than a year ago, have longer to make decisions, and certainly have more properties to choose from."
Young said first-home buyer activity in Tauranga and Rotorua in the last few months was "solid" with some good deals being achieved as the market re-rated.
"Activity has certainly picked up through July – September when compared to the period April to June."
REINZ regional director Neville Falconer said first-home buyers and owner-occupiers were "active" in Tauranga and Rotorua.
"Rotorua salespeople also reported adequate interest from developers beginning to filter through.
"In Tauranga, salespeople say there are opportunities for first home buyers not available previously, and when finance is confirmed, they are acting on it."
Falconer said there was also an increase in higher-end stock coming to the market but, again, lower buyer demand.
“Across the Bay of Plenty, newly listed properties with quality marketing campaigns attracted higher than average open home attendance this month.”
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