For many the cost of servicing a mortgage isn’t the biggest barrier in getting a home of their own

saving a deposit by themselves in order to obtain a home loan. “It’s more around the deposit, and somehow trying to avoid any progress on saving the deposit falling behind the actual rise in property values,” the report read.
By the end of June last year, a couple earning an average household income and saving 15 per cent of their pre-tax income, would have to do so for a period of 10.6 years to scrape together a 20 per cent deposit for an average house. In Auckland, the metric was 12.1 per cent, while in Christchurch, it was 7.6 per cent. Since these figures were published, the situation has aggravated even further, with the national average household looking to save 20 per cent taking 11.7 per cent years to do so. The task is much harder for those earning lower incomes or living in higher-cost areas.
Nevertheless, experts insist that anyone looking to obtain a mortgage must save at least 5 per cent of the purchase price of the property they are looking to buy. The rest could be financed by loved ones, Auckland mortgage adviser Karen Tatterson says. “The purchaser must have a genuine 5 per cent deposit,” she said. This is owing to the fact that when lending to customers, banks look at the ability of the individual to make big financial commitments and then carry through with them.
According to Tatterson, despite worsening economic circumstances, many homebuyers are still managing to save the required deposit, although it is unclear how this is being done without a capital injection from loved ones. “We see it done regularly, where people have just pared back their day-to-day expenditure, and really worked hard to save a good deposit,” she says. “You can do it. It’s just about commitment.”
Non-financial help from family members, as well as KiwiSaver also have played a key role here. Recent figures show that KiwiSaver has become a core element of saving a deposit on a house, with first-home buyers withdrawing between $100 million and $160 million each month to help fund deposits.