light-hearted, they do however, emphasise the crisis faced by younger populations hoping to get onto the housing ladder. “Apparently it’s easier to buy a house with someone else. Genuine outdoors bloke looking to settle down hopefully,” one Kiwi user said. “Just want someone to buy a house with, nothing serious,” another joked. “Looking for someone to combine incomes with so we can buy a house using the Kiwibuild $180,000 couples’ limit,” another bio read.
This bio area is used by Tinder users to write about themselves, and outline what they are looking for in a partner.
In New Zealand, single people often find it much difficult to buy a home since they would typically earn about half the income of an average household. Data from the Commission for Financial Capability shows a smaller proportion of singles own homes in comparison to couples in all age groups. According to Tracey Topp, an administrator for the Kiwi First Home Buyers Group Facebook page, only one client on her book is currently young and single, and this client was also able to rustle up the 20 per cent deposit only after receiving a gift from a parent.
