First Home buyers rejoice - it's your time!
While plenty of people are lamenting big changes to tax legislation, the rise of interest rates and the crunching of credit criteria, the current conditions have opened up opportunity - and for many first home buyers, it's their time to shine!
Why is this? Let's have a look at some of the factors contributing to what we think is a great time for you to get on the property ladder in 2022.
The Government is on your side
In May 2022, the Government introduced it's biggest changes to the tools supporting first home buyers than it has in 5 years. With the uptake of the First Home Loan (Kainga Ora's flagship product for first home buyers) waning - it was time to make some improvements.
They thankfully listened to buyers, banks and advisers across the country and removed the regional price caps completely, opening up opportunity for buyers who live in larger centres and were struggling to find properties under the price caps. The limits on income were retained which naturally limits the uptake of the loan to those who need it most - low and middle income earners and their families.
In our world, this has opened up opportunities for those with a lower deposit (at least 5%, up to 10%) and although there is some other criteria to meet, we're now seeing over half of first home buyers eligible for the loan. To learn more about this, check out our blog on the first home buyer products here
The market has slowed
After the heights of 2020 and 2021, where FOMO (fear of missing out) was rife, and first home buyers were forced to take unprecedented risks with their due diligence and time frames, the market in 2022 has cooled, and it's more acceptable to take your time and check out a property thoroughly before you buy it.
This is great news for those with Kiwisaver as deposit, and vendors are now accepting offers with 15 day finance clauses and many also fixing small building issues or unconsented work in order to get properties sold.
Properties in the lower price bracket (sub $750K) are also selling more often by negotiation and vendors are realistic about prices - so there are some deals out there for first home buyers!
Flexibility is key
Many first home buyers can be flexible about dates and time frames, and plenty of recent purchases we've worked on have had longer or shorter settlements, quick turnaround times and other concessions made by the buyer in order to fit in with vendor plans.
With the property cycle moving into a flatter market and tax changes for investors, there's also a bit less competition out there for first home buyers from people flipping properties and selling in a hot market.
How to be successful in today's market
Being prepared, pre-approved and ready to go is really important, and these are all things we can help you do, in establishing your budget and where you're at and feeling confident as you go into finding the right first home for you.
So book in a call with Claire or Greg today and get yourself in a position to buy your first home before the end of the year - there's never been a better time!