New Zealand’s house price slump has given first-time homebuyers a welcome leg up in their quest to purchase a property, but it may be a short-lived opportunity.
“This is the way I’ve been putting it to the young buyers: this is a window of opportunity,” said independent New Zealand economist Tony Alexander. “This is good as it gets.” First-time purchasers are now also taking their chances in other countries – in the US they have taken a bigger share of the nation’s frozen housing market, according to a survey by real estate marketplace Zillow, while in Britain, the cohort made up the largest chunk of property purchases with a mortgage last year.Shevaun Price is one New Zealander who has grabbed the opportunity.
gives buyers confidence. Kiwis tend to fix their mortgage rates for less than three years, unlike in the US where 30-year terms are the norm, making the market particularly sensitive to rate changes.may also produce a result that fuels house-price gains. The current Labour government curtailed a tax loophole in 2021 that had allowed landlords to deduct mortgage interest from rental income before paying tax on it.