Buying a home
Every home on Homepage is sold by the people who live in it. You deal with the owner directly, you never need an account, and your own lawyer looks after the legal side, just as they would if there were an agent.
Browse homes on the map
Every home on Homepage is on the map from the day it's claimed. Search a suburb, set your price and beds, and see which homes are open this weekend. Each pin goes straight to that home's own site, with the photos, the documents and the owner's enquiry form.
Buying a home in New Zealand: what to know
Six things worth knowing before you fall for a place, in roughly the order they come up. None of it is advice for your own situation, and your lawyer and a mortgage adviser are the people for that.
Sort your finance first
Talk to your bank or a mortgage adviser before you start looking seriously. A pre-approval tells you what you can spend and makes your offer stronger. Most buyers need a deposit of around 20 percent of the price on an existing home, with lower-deposit options for some, and if it is your first home check what your KiwiSaver can do. The calculators below give you a rough idea.
Look, then look again
Go to the open home, then go back at a different time of day. Walk the street. Check the sun, the noise, the parking and where the water goes when it rains. On Homepage you can register for an open home ahead of time, check in on the day, and follow a home to get an email when an open home is added or the price changes.
Do your homework
Read the LIM from the council and the title. Many owners put both on their Homepage site for you to download. Get a building report from an inspector you choose. Look up the council valuation and what nearby homes have sold for. If anything has been altered or added, ask whether it was consented. Your lawyer reads the documents with you.
Make your offer in writing
Offers go on the standard Sale and Purchase agreement, and your lawyer checks it before you sign. You can make it conditional on finance, a building report, a LIM or a title search, each with a date. On Homepage you make the offer to the owner directly. Homepage is not part of the deal: the agreement, the deposit and settlement run between you, the owner and your lawyers.
Conditions, deposit, settlement
Once the owner accepts, you work through your conditions by their dates. When you confirm the agreement is unconditional you pay the deposit, into a lawyer's trust account, and the two lawyers settle on the day you agreed. That is the day you get the keys. Arrange insurance to start from settlement, not after.
Buying from the owner
With no agent in the middle you talk to the person who knows the home best, and you can ask them anything. Two things to keep in mind: a private seller is not bound by the rules that cover agents, so your own checks matter just as much, and money only ever changes hands through your lawyer. Never pay anything to anyone else.
Work out your numbers
Two quick sums to get your bearings before you talk to a lender. Change any figure and the answer updates. They are estimates, not an offer of finance.
You could look at homes up to about
$600,000
Your deposit sets the limit. With a bigger deposit, your income would let you borrow more.
Information only. This is not an offer of finance, and Homepage does not provide home loans. The figure is an estimate for illustration, worked out from the few things you have entered: tax on 2025/26 rates with no ACC levy, a table loan at a constant rate for the whole term, repayments tested at your rate plus 1.5 percent, and a 20 percent deposit.
It is deliberately on the conservative side. A bank or a non-bank lender may offer more, or less, depending on your situation: lower-deposit lending is available to some buyers, lenders set their own living cost floors and test rates, and other debts, dependants and your credit history all count.
For an actual loan offer, talk to a mortgage adviser, who is usually paid by the lender rather than by you, or to the banks directly. Nothing here is financial advice.
On $480,000 at 5.5% over 30 years.
A point higher and it is $3,034 a month; a point lower, $2,432.
How the loan pays down
Early on, most of each repayment is interest. Year by year the balance tips the other way, which is why extra repayments in the first years do the most good.
Year by year, as a table
| Year | Repayments | Interest | Paid off the loan | Still owing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $32,705 | $26,239 | $6,466 | $473,534 |
| 2 | $32,705 | $25,874 | $6,831 | $466,703 |
| 3 | $32,705 | $25,489 | $7,216 | $459,487 |
| 4 | $32,705 | $25,082 | $7,623 | $451,864 |
| 5 | $32,705 | $24,652 | $8,053 | $443,811 |
| 6 | $32,705 | $24,197 | $8,507 | $435,304 |
| 7 | $32,705 | $23,717 | $8,987 | $426,316 |
| 8 | $32,705 | $23,210 | $9,494 | $416,822 |
| 9 | $32,705 | $22,675 | $10,030 | $406,792 |
| 10 | $32,705 | $22,109 | $10,596 | $396,197 |
| 11 | $32,705 | $21,511 | $11,193 | $385,004 |
| 12 | $32,705 | $20,880 | $11,825 | $373,179 |
| 13 | $32,705 | $20,213 | $12,492 | $360,687 |
| 14 | $32,705 | $19,508 | $13,196 | $347,491 |
| 15 | $32,705 | $18,764 | $13,941 | $333,551 |
| 16 | $32,705 | $17,978 | $14,727 | $318,824 |
| 17 | $32,705 | $17,147 | $15,558 | $303,266 |
| 18 | $32,705 | $16,269 | $16,435 | $286,831 |
| 19 | $32,705 | $15,342 | $17,362 | $269,469 |
| 20 | $32,705 | $14,363 | $18,342 | $251,127 |
| 21 | $32,705 | $13,328 | $19,376 | $231,751 |
| 22 | $32,705 | $12,235 | $20,469 | $211,281 |
| 23 | $32,705 | $11,081 | $21,624 | $189,658 |
| 24 | $32,705 | $9,861 | $22,844 | $166,814 |
| 25 | $32,705 | $8,572 | $24,132 | $142,682 |
| 26 | $32,705 | $7,211 | $25,493 | $117,188 |
| 27 | $32,705 | $5,773 | $26,931 | $90,257 |
| 28 | $32,705 | $4,254 | $28,451 | $61,806 |
| 29 | $32,705 | $2,649 | $30,055 | $31,751 |
| 30 | $32,705 | $954 | $31,751 | $0 |
| Over the term | $981,139 | $501,139 | $480,000 |
These calculators are general information, not financial advice or an offer of finance. A mortgage adviser can run the real numbers for you, usually at no cost, and tell you which lenders fit your situation.
Ready to turn an estimate into a real figure? Lenda are mortgage advisers who negotiate with the banks for you. They show you the rates and cashback other homeowners have been given, then go and get you a better offer, from your own bank or another one.
It costs you nothing, as advisers are paid by the lender, and the first step is a call with Sean or Jackson, the two co-founders and senior advisers.
What they do
- Compare the rates and cashback other homeowners got, not the advertised ones
- Negotiate with your bank, or find a better one
- Structure the loan so you pay it off sooner
- Email you when a tracked rate moves
Build your team
Buying well takes three people besides you. Homepage takes no fee or commission from anyone listed here. You engage them directly, and anyone you already trust works just as well.
Your lawyer, first
Your lawyer reads the title and the LIM with you, checks the Sale and Purchase agreement before you sign, holds the deposit in trust and settles on the day. Engage one before you make an offer, not after, and ask what they charge for a purchase when you first call.
If you don't have a lawyer yet, these two are upfront about their fees, so you know what the legal side of buying costs before you call. Pick one to see their fees.
A boutique practice with offices in Kelburn and Tauranga. Fixed fees for the standard jobs, and they cover the whole purchase, from checking the agreement and the documents through to the deposit, your KiwiSaver withdrawal if you are using one, and settlement day.
Buying, fixed fee
As at 28 October 2026Urban property, plus GST and disbursements. Their current fees are always on their site.
Property law with a real estate edge. With a background in real estate and specialist conveyancing expertise, The Law Lady understands property transactions from both sides. Whether you're buying or selling privately, their friendly team offers practical advice, transparent fixed fees and guidance from preparing or reviewing your agreement right through to settlement.
Private purchase, fixed fee
As at 30 October 2026Plus GST and disbursements. Both include a LIM report review and two KiwiSaver applications.
Also worth having on the team
We are adding partners in each of these as we go. If you already have someone good, use them.
Mortgage adviser
Finds the loan and the lender that fit you and does the paperwork, usually paid by the bank rather than by you. Talk to one before you start looking.
Building inspector
A written report on the home's condition before you go unconditional. A report the owner provides is a good start; one you commission answers to you.
Registered valuer
An independent figure for the home, for when the bank asks for a valuation or you want one before you decide what to offer.
Insurance
House insurance has to be in place from settlement day, and most lenders want to see it before they advance the loan. Sort it once you go unconditional.
Find your next home
Every pin on the map is an owner you can talk to directly. No account, no agent, no ads on the home's own site.