New KiwiSaver HomeStart Grant Criteria

On August 1st 2016 the Government made some important changes to the eligibility rules for accessing KiwiSaver HomeStart grants.

KiwiSaver HomeStart grant is a Housing New Zealand run scheme that can provide up to $5,000 for an individual or $10,000 for a two or more eligible buyers of an existing home.  For buyers of brand new homes the grant is up to double.

NEW KIWISAVER HOMESTART GRANT CRITERIA

There are three key changes to the KiwiSaver HomeStart grant eligibility:

House Price Caps

All existing house price caps have been raised by $50,000.

• Auckland – $600,000
• Hamilton City, Tauranga City, Western Bay of Plenty District, Kapiti Coast District, Porirua City, Upper Hutt City, Hutt City, Wellington City, Tasman District, Nelson City, Waimakariri District, Christchurch City, Selwyn District, Queenstown Lakes District – $500,000
• Special Housing Areas – $500,000
• Rest of New Zealand – $400,000

All new builds or purchases of the plan house price caps have been raised by $100,000

• Auckland – $650,000
• Hamilton City, Tauranga City, Western Bay of Plenty District, Kapiti Coast District, Porirua City, Upper Hutt City, Hutt City, Wellington City, Tasman District, Nelson City, Waimakariri District, Christchurch City, Selwyn District, Queenstown Lakes District – $550,000
• Special Housing Areas – $550,000
• Rest of New Zealand – $450,000

Income Caps

The new income cap for an individual has been raised from $80,000 to $85,000.  For two or more buyers the cap is now $130,000.

Previous Home Owner

Eligibility for previous home owners is now determined by:

• Realisable assets level of no more than 20% of the regional house price cap for existing/older properties

For the existing general criteria take a look at the following checklist:

For help getting into your first home, register for our free planning meeting here.  Our experienced advisors are there to help you through the ins and outs of the process of buying your first home.