Your first home buyers guide

Thinking about your first home but not sure where to start? Explore our comprehensive first home buyers guide, with helpful resources for every stage of your home ownership journey.

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Where's Wally Going to Live?

Part One: Getting Started

Wallace is looking for his first home, and is taking the first steps of the home buying journey with Louise, his ASB Mobile Home Ownership Manager.

Whether you're just starting to think about buying or you're already scrolling property listings, this series is here to show that with the right support, home ownership is possible.

Find an expert near me

ASB Bank Limited's lending criteria and terms apply.

Part Two: The House Hunt

One of the toughest steps in the first home journey is finding the right place! New build, reno project, apartment, townhouse, tiny house – the options are almost endless.

While Wally and Zoe make their way around Hamilton, ASB Mobile Home Ownership Manager Louise is busy in the background making sure Wally's ready to put an offer in when he finds the home for him!

Finding your first home

ASB Bank Limited's lending criteria and terms apply.

Part Three: Keys to the Castle

Wally's found his dream first home. In this episode, Louise gets Wallace on track to put an offer in and then talks him through his next steps.

Then, Louise  goes to congratulate Wally and takes Wally for a tour of Home Central in the ASB Mobile Banking App – the one-stop-shop for everything related to your Home Loan.

Find out more

ASB Bank Limited's lending criteria and terms apply.

Make your move into your first home with a deposit as little as 5%.

You could get into your first home with a deposit as little as 5% with a First Home Loan through ASB and Kāinga Ora - Homes and Communities. Chat to us today.

Explore a First Home Loan

A little extra support to help you get into your first home

Buying your first home is a big milestone, so we're here to help make it a little easier.

If you're an eligible first home buyer, you could receive a $5,000 cash contribution when taking out a home loan of $200,000 or more with ASB - even if you have less than a 20% deposit.

You'll need to be buying your first home to live in and have never owned a residential property in New Zealand.

How to qualify
To receive the First Home Buyer Cash Contribution, you must:

  • Meet ASB's home lending criteria, the offer terms and be approved for your home loan.
  • Meet the First Home Buyer eligibility requirements.
  • Let your lender or broker know before settlement that you'd like to be considered for the First Home Buyer Cash Contribution.

Apply online

Full First Home Buyer Cash Contribution terms:

  1. You must be purchasing your first home to live in or must not have previously owned a residential property in New Zealand. Where one or more borrowers have previously owned a residential property, ASB may, at its discretion, determine eligibility for a reduced cash contribution.
  2. A minimum home loan of $200,000 must be drawn down in full at settlement.
  3. The cash contribution will be paid on or after settlement once all eligibility requirements have been met.
  4. If you refinance, repay, or otherwise terminate your loan within 36 months of receiving the cash contribution, including through a mortgagee sale, you will be required to repay a pro-rata portion of the cash contribution, as determined by ASB.
  5. This offer may be changed, withdrawn, or extended at any time. 

Important information
Meeting ASB's home lending criteria does not automatically make you eligible for the First Home Buyer Cash Contribution. Eligibility requirements and offer terms also apply. If you believe you meet the eligibility requirements and did not receive the First Home Buyer Cash Contribution, contact your lender, broker, or ASB within 14 days of settlement. We'll review your application and, where eligible, ensure the correct cash contribution is paid.

Buying your first home? Our team is here to help.

Just started thinking about home ownership? Or maybe a real estate app is the most used on your phone? We know that buying your first home and navigating a world of acronyms and jargon can be a little tricky. That's where we come in.

Whether you're browsing, budgeting, or buying, our team of home buying experts will be with you every step of the way to answer any questions you have.

Book an appointment Chat to a Home Ownership Manager

Select where you are on your first home buying journey

You're thinking about how to get your first home, but you're not sure where to start. 

Starting out

You're now thinking about budgeting and how you can save for your deposit.

Power saving

You're researching what's out there and hunting for your first home. 

Finding

How to book a home loan appointment using your mobile

Follow these quick steps to talk to a home lending specialist about your first home. It's easy in the ASB Mobile Banking app or FastNet Classic internet banking.

Play video icon

Step one: Log into the ASB Mobile Banking app or FastNet Classic.

Step two: Tap 'More' (in ASB Mobile Banking app) or 'Menu' (in FastNet Classic), and then select 'Contact us'.

Step three: Click the 'Book an appointment' button and follow the booking instructions from there.

Step four: Update your personal details, including email and phone number, if they’re out of date. 

Step five: Select 'Home Loan' as the main purpose of your appointment (this will match you with an ASB home lending specialist). If you are a first home buyer, select 'Buying your first home'.

Step six: Fill in all relevant appointment details.

Step seven: Select how you would like to talk to the ASB home lending specialist. You'll then be prompted to choose your location, date, time to find suggested available appointments.

Step eight: Your appointment is confirmed! Here, you'll be able to see all of your appointment details.

Frequently asked questions

If you are starting to think about buying your first home, then we have heaps of handy information to help here. The first key step to buying a home is working out what you want and what you can afford. This will help you work out how much you will need to save to turn your dream of buying a home into a reality.

To get a home loan your deposit will generally have to be 20% of the property's value – but it all depends on your individual situation. Buyers may be able to get into a home sooner with a deposit as little as 10%.

When purchasing your first home, the amount you can afford to spend on a house will depend on how much you earn and the expenses you will need to pay. Factors that contribute to how much you can afford to borrow include but are not limited to the following; your income (individual or joint), living costs, number of people supported by your income, KiwiSaver contributions and interest rates. Use our home loan borrowing calculator to see what you could afford to borrow. 

To withdraw your KiwiSaver funds to buy your first home, you need to check you are eligible and have a sale and purchase agreement showing you as the purchaser.

If you are eligible, tell your lawyer that you would like to make a KiwiSaver first home buyers withdrawal and they will guide you through the process.

You will need to complete an application, which can take up to 10 days to be processed. For more information see our KiwiSaver first home withdrawal page.

To get started you can apply for pre-approval online, over the phone, at any ASB branch or one of our Home Ownership Managers.

Borrowing calculator

Home loan interest rates

Min 20% equity

6-month fixed rate
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36-month fixed rate
48-month fixed rate



60-month fixed rate
24-month fixed rate
36-month fixed rate
48-month fixed rate
60-month fixed rate
6-month fixed rate
12-month fixed rate
18-month fixed rate



Housing variable rate

Rates may change. After the fixed rate period the Housing Variable Rate will apply. For those with less than 20% equity see here for rates.

We're here to help

Apply online

Apply for a new home loan, or to switch your existing home loan to ASB. We'll be in touch to confirm the next steps. Give yourself 5-10 minutes.

Get started

Meet in person

One of our team can meet at a time and place that suits you, or you can make an appointment to meet at an ASB branch.

Find a Home Ownership Manager near you.

Log in to book an appointment.

Give us a call

You can pick up the phone and call one of our home lending team, weekdays 8:00am-6:30pm and on Saturday 8:30am-5:00pm.

0800 100 600

+64 9 306 3000 for overseas

Manage loan online

Existing customers can view and manage loans, apply for a top up and more.

Log in to Home Central

ASB's lending criteria and terms apply.

ASB's terms apply. To use the ASB Mobile app, you need to be registered for FastNet Classic (ASB internet banking). Please call 0800 MOB BANK (0800 662 226) to register for either. It’s free to use the ASB Mobile app, but your usual data costs and standard FastNet Classic transaction and service charges will apply.

Home loans First home loan - Buying your first home in New Zealand