How to Work With Real Estate Agents When Buying Your First Home
Buying your first home is a huge milestone — but it can also feel like stepping into unfamiliar territory. From understanding the paperwork to dealing with tight deadlines and competitive offers, first home buyers in New Zealand face many challenges.
While most people know they’ll need a mortgage adviser and a lawyer, many overlook one important resource: a real estate agent acting on your side. In a market where most agents work for the seller, it’s possible — and often smart — to engage with a real estate agent who helps you, the buyer, navigate listings and negotiate strategically.
In this guide, we’ll explore how first home buyers can use real estate agents effectively, what to watch for, and why playing your cards right — especially when it comes to your pre-approval amount — can help you secure your first home on the right terms.
Real Estate Agents in New Zealand … Who Do They Really Work For?
In New Zealand, real estate agents are most commonly engaged by the vendor (seller). That means their legal responsibility is to act in the seller’s best interest, usually with the goal of achieving the highest possible sale price and best sale conditions.
But that doesn’t mean buyers are on their own. Agents still have a legal obligation to treat all parties fairly and honestly. More importantly, first home buyers can engage with agents in a way that shifts the advantage back into their corner.
This might mean working closely with a trusted agent in your preferred suburb who understands your needs and helps scout properties — or in some cases, engaging a buyer aligned agent who can act on your behalf in dealing with listing agents.
Using Agents to Help With Your First Home Search
While listing agents represent sellers, many real estate professionals are happy to help first home buyers find a suitable property. Why? Because you’re a qualified buyer, and that’s valuable to them — even if they’re not officially “your” agent.
If you build a relationship with an agent who’s familiar with your budget, property preferences, and timelines, they can:
Alert you to pre-market or just-listed homes
Guide you on what vendor expectations might be
Help interpret auction terms or sale conditions
Advise whether the seller is open to conditional offers
Act as a buyer-friendly intermediary between you and the listing agent
This support is especially useful when you’re looking in competitive areas, or trying to work through multiple listings at once. In practice, this means you’ll often have one agent helping you navigate properties listed by a variety of selling agents — someone on the ground, feeding back insights and negotiating tactics that protect your interests.
Connect With First Home Buyer Specialist Agent Stephen Kattan
The First Home Buyers Club has partnered with Stephen Kattan of Barfoot & Thompson who works as a first home buyer specialist. As a buyer-aligned agent, he can help you with your house search, making an offer and negotiations.
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What you get:
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Using a Buyer-Focused Agent to Engage with Listing Agents
A particularly effective strategy is to use a buyer-aligned agent to liaise with listing agents on your behalf. This gives you a degree of separation, allowing your agent to ask tough questions or negotiate more aggressively — without you being directly exposed to sales pressure.
For instance, they might probe on your behalf about:
Whether the vendor would consider a price drop
How much interest there’s been at the listed price
If a LIM is available
What kind of offer terms are most likely to be accepted
This can be especially helpful if you're feeling unsure or lack confidence when engaging directly with selling agents who may push for urgency.
Keep Your Pre-Approval Close to Your Chest
While it’s important to be clear with agents that you’re pre-approved, it’s just as important not to disclose how much you’ve been approved for.
Why? Because the listing agent is working for the seller, and if they know your full pre-approved amount, they may use that information to influence the sale price or pressure you into increasing your offer. This is a classic negotiation tactic, and one that can cost buyers thousands.
Instead, frame your discussions around your target budget, which may be less than your maximum borrowing capacity. A good mortgage adviser can help you determine what amount is sensible for your lifestyle and long-term affordability — not just what the bank is technically willing to lend.
Remember: just because you can borrow $800,000 doesn’t mean you should spend it all.
Avoid Common Pitfalls When Dealing with Agents
Many first-time buyers fall into the trap of:
Believing the agent is equally working for both parties
Revealing too much information (financial, emotional, or strategic)
Relying solely on verbal conversations or promises
Not following up with their own legal or building advice
Keep in mind that while many agents are helpful and professional, their job is ultimately to get the best outcome for the seller. Having a clear strategy and independent advice ensures you’re not swept up in the pace or pressure of a fast-moving campaign.
Pre-Approvals and Live Deals: Timing Matters
If you’ve been pre-approved, great — that puts you in a stronger buying position. But don’t assume you’re in the clear just yet.
Banks in New Zealand occasionally limit access to pre-approvals as a way of managing their exposure under the Reserve Bank’s Loan-to-Value Ratio (LVR) rules. During these periods, pre-approvals may be delayed, paused, or tightened — particularly for low-deposit borrowers.
That’s why it’s so important to get pre-approval early and ensure it stays valid while you search. Pre-approvals typically last 60 to 90 days, and working with a mortgage adviser can help you stay on top of renewal dates or changes to your borrowing power.
Once you’ve found a property and made an offer, your lender will re-assess your application as a live deal — considering both your financials and the property itself. At this point, speed matters. Having an engaged agent and your mortgage adviser in sync can help you secure approval quickly and meet contract deadlines.
The Right Team Makes All the Difference
Buying a home isn’t just about finding a property — it’s about putting together the right team to guide you through the process. That includes:
A mortgage adviser to assess affordability and secure lending
A lawyer to review contracts and perform due diligence
A real estate agent (or several) to help you search strategically
A building inspector to uncover hidden risks
Together, this team ensures you make decisions confidently, based on sound advice — not pressure or guesswork.
Build Trust, But Stay Informed
Real estate agents can be incredibly helpful allies — particularly if you’re proactive, respectful, and well-prepared. Like any relationship, the more open and constructive the communication, the more benefit you’ll get.
But don’t forget: your interests aren’t always aligned with the vendor’s. Be smart, get advice, and approach every property with clear eyes and the right questions.
Use Strategy, Not Emotion, To Secure Your First Home
Buying your first home is emotional — but it should also be strategic. By working with agents wisely, protecting your pre-approval information, and using professionals who represent you, you can level the playing field in a seller-driven market.
If you’re just starting your home buying journey, or have questions about where to begin, The First Home Buyers Club can help. We’ll connect you with experienced mortgage advisers, trusted lawyers, and agents who understand what first home buyers need — and how to help you find it.
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