Administered by Housing New Zealand, this scheme currently allows individuals to borrow up to a specific value with little or no deposit. Not all Banks are involved with this scheme so we do recommend you talk to us first. 

Recent changes that come into effect on 1 October 2013 for this scheme are mainly centered around the amount able to be borrowed and the change in deposit requirements. 

The basic criteria are:

• You must be New Zealand Citizens or Permanent New Zealand Residents (holding a 'Permanent Resident Visa').
• The Welcome Home Loan is for owner-occupied properties only. It is not for rental properties.
• Borrowers must not own any other property.
• Borrowers may need to pay fees such as an application fee and a Lenders Mortgage Insurance premium fee. But in most cases these can be built into the home loan. Talk to your participating lender to see what fees apply.

House price caps as of 1 October 2013 are:

·        Auckland's house pricecap - $485,000

·        Wellington City andQueenstown Lakes' house price cap - $425,000

·        Christchurch City andSelwyn District's house price cap - $400,000

·        House price cap forThames/Coromandel, Waimakariri, Hamilton City, Western Bay of Plenty, Hutt City(Lower Hutt), Upper Hutt, Kapiti Coast, Tasman/Nelson, Tauranga City andPorirua City will be $350,000

·        For the rest of NewZealand the house price cap will be $300,000.

Applicants willneed to have a deposit that is 10 percent or more of the purchase price. Previously this had been set at 0% forborrowers under $200,000. However the belief that an effort should be requiredin some form of savings has seen the requirement of a deposit.  However this can be gifted.

And finally there are Income caps

These are now $80,000for 1 buyer and $120,000 for two or more buyers.

Designed to provide an avenue for home ownership for low income earners this may be an opportunity for you to consider – but do please talk to us as not all mainstream lenders are involved with this scheme.