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4 July, 2018 | Wade Hansen
Article updated June 2024
The KiwiBuild eligibility requirements are the easiest to meet of the four schemes supported by the Government to help first home buyers purchase their first property — 92% of first home buyers should meet the income eligibility criteria. So what are the criteria for purchasing a KiwiBuild home and how do you go about meeting eligibility criteria to purchase one?
To be eligible to purchase a KiwiBuild property, applicants must be New Zealand citizens or permanent residents.
Applicants must earn:
There is no asset cap for first home buyers (i.e. you can have savings/assets of any amount). (There is an asset cap for “second chancers”).
However, if you are married to, in a civil union with or de facto relationship with someone who has a current legal or beneficial interest in a home in New Zealand or Overseas, you are not eligible for KiwiBuild.
There is an asset cap for “second chancers”.
A “second chancer” is categorised as someone who may have previously owned property but is now in a similar financial position to a first home buyer. Examples of these kinds of people would be those who have separated/divorced or those who have owned property but have had to sell the property due to financial circumstances and find themselves with a smaller home deposit.
To qualify, the assets of so-called “second chancers” will need to be:
Those who purchase a KiwiBuild property will need to live in it for at least three years before selling it or renting it out as an investment property. As long as the purchasers are living in the property, they will be allowed to rent out rooms to flatmates during that three year period.
In Auckland and Queenstown KiwiBuild houses will cost:
Outside of Auckland and Queenstown
The scheme aims to have built:
The intention is that at least 50,000 of the KiwiBuild homes will be built in Auckland.
Once a potential KiwiBuild purchaser has been accepted as meeting the entry criteria (as listed above) they will be entered into a ballot.
As the KiwiBuild properties become available for sale, eligible potential purchasers will be selected from the ballot and those selected will be given the first opportunity to purchase the property.
This process will continue as more KiwiBuild homes are completed.
The pre-qualification process is not yet open, but you can register your interest to find out more about KiwiBuild as the information becomes available by submitting an online form here.
To register your interest to receive more info, you will be asked to supply:
If you are unable to submit the form via the KiwiBuild website, it can be printed out and posted to: Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment Attn: KiwiBuild Unit PO Box 1473 Wellington 6140
You do not have to meet edibility criteria to register interest in the programme, and you can register interest on behalf of someone else.
The government has not yet released details regarding eligibility criteria, but Smith and Partners believe that it is highly likely that the scheme will use a similar programme to either the Axis Series affordable home programme at Hobsonville Point or the HomeStart Grant process.
Both of these programmes require:
22 February, 2012 | Wade Hansen