21/10/2026
Think you need a massive $140,000 deposit saved before looking at open homes in Hamilton?
While a 20% deposit is the standard banking benchmark, Reserve Bank lending rules allow trading banks to approve owner-occupier loans with just a 10% deposit. On Hamiltonโs first-home median price of $700,000 in suburbs like Nawton, Dinsdale, and Chartwell, that drops your savings target to $70,000.
For two 27-year-olds working full-time since age 20, that deposit is often already sitting combined across their KiwiSaver accounts.
Buying with less than 20% does involve a Low Equity Margin (LEM), but our role as advisers is to structure your mortgage to pay down principal and eliminate that extra fee as fast as possible.
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