First-home buyers look at rental to get on property ladder

Nearly half of first-home buyers would consider buying a rental to get on the property ladder.

Research by the BNZ asked people what they would be prepared to do to get into their first home and 44 per cent said they would buy an investment property either in a cheaper suburb of the city where they lived or elsewhere in the country.

Paul Carter, BNZ’s director of retail and marketing, said it was seeing a shift in the traditional path to home ownership in the wake of rising house prices.

“Part of the context is we know that house prices have risen significantly in recent years.”

Carter said Kiwis were known for their ingenuity and this was just another way it was coming out.

“First home buyers are saying they are looking to get more creative.”

While investment property buyers need a higher deposit of 35 per cent compared with 20 per cent for owneroccupied purchases the deposit could still end up being lower than the amount needed to buy a home in Auckland. Carter said in regions like the Manawatu the median property price was around $289,000 which would put the deposit at $101,150.

Barfoot and Thompson figures show the median sales price for an Auckland house was $820,000 last month which would put a 20 per cent deposit at $164,000.

Carter said the rental income needed to exceed the mortgage costs and rates and repair costs also needed to be taken into account as well as the buyer’s ability to service the mortgage if the property wasn’t tenanted or the tenants didn’t pay rent. The research also found that 30 per cent would consider going in with family to get on the property ladder and 14 per cent would buy with friends.

BNZ is hosting an Auckland event next Thursday called Buying Outside the Box: Alternative ways into the property market.