Buying a House as a Young Couple - Finance Matters

These days, there are many different kinds of homeowners: young, old, single – even family units. But it’s young couples in New Zealand who often face one of the biggest uphill climbs towards buying a first home. Being in your 20s-30s means you’re just getting a start in life, still learning and developing – maybe beginning a new career or even thinking about children. Whatever the case, it’s important to understand the best steps forward for your given situation.

For starters, are you sure about buying a house at this stage in life? We encourage you to follow your dreams, but you should always be on the same page with your partner and those around you to ensure that this is the best move for you at this time.

Luckily, there are just two major categories to consider before you join the housing market. To help you get started, let’s take a look at how young couples can buy their first home.

Identify Your Current Resources

Whether you have a spouse or common-law partner, buying a house in NZ is always easier with two streams of income. If only one of you is currently working, perhaps discuss whether the other person could take up a part-time job or do some contracting to bring in a little extra income. Remember, when it comes to building up a deposit and paying off a mortgage, every little bit counts.

Another resource to consider is your parents; between both households, would your families be able to chip in towards the deposit, or act as guarantors on a loan? On the other hand, if you both have been contributing towards KiwiSaver for more than 3 years, you may be able to take most of your KiwiSaver savings towards the deposit.

Having a bit of a financial safety net, even if you don’t think you have anything saved up, can smooth things over and give you some breathing room if things were to suddenly change. This is why you should always carefully consider your choice to join the housing market before making the first move.

Put Together a Financial Plan

Many young couples won’t yet have much in the way of savings; plus, although you have two streams of income, there may also be student loans, credit cards and other debts taking a bite out of your pay check. With this in mind, it is crucial to develop a strong financial plan to determine how much you can afford to put down for a deposit and what you can repay on your mortgage (whether that’s weekly, fortnightly or monthly).

This is where partnering with a financial adviser can make a world of difference. In most cases our services are free of cost, meaning you can come talk to our experts any time and start achieving your goals without taking a further chunk out of the budget. Starting with a planning session, we can put in a framework that takes into account your income, expenses and other resources to help you achieve your dreams in a way that is both fast and comfortable for your means.

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At Finance Matters, our motto is dream | plan | achieve – and we keep this front of mind every day. Even if you’re on the fence about buying your first home, coming in for a free planning session with our team can set you on the right path and give you a clear understanding of the goals to work for in order to make that dream a reality.