For most first home buyers in New Zealand, the deposit is their KiwiSaver. If you have been a member for at least three years, you can usually withdraw almost all of it towards a first home, leaving $1,000 in the account. Here is what you can take out, what you cannot, and how long it takes.
Plenty of people come to me not knowing how much is in their KiwiSaver, whether they qualify, or how the money actually reaches the seller. None of that has to be sorted before we talk. We can start with:
Four things decide whether you can use your KiwiSaver, and how much of it you get. All four have to line up.
You need to have belonged to KiwiSaver for at least three years. It does not have to be three years of steady contributions with the same provider, and a savings suspension along the way does not reset the clock.
You can withdraw your own contributions, your employer contributions, the government contributions and the investment returns on all of it. A minimum of $1,000 has to stay behind so the account stays open.
The property has to be in New Zealand and it has to be somewhere you intend to live. A rental or a holiday house does not qualify, and neither does land you are not going to build on.
How many times can you do this? Once. You can withdraw your KiwiSaver for your first home and never again. Whatever you buy after that, from your second house onwards, has to be paid for without a KiwiSaver withdrawal.
In most cases, everything except $1,000. There is no upper limit on a KiwiSaver first home withdrawal, so the answer is simply whatever has built up in your account, minus that $1,000 and anything your provider tells you is locked.
Your contributions, your employer contributions, the government contributions and the investment returns earned on all of them. For most people that is the whole balance apart from the $1,000 that stays behind.
Not to you. Your provider pays it into your solicitor’s trust account, and your solicitor holds it until it is needed. You can use it for the deposit, for settlement, or split it across both.
KiwiSaver pays for the house, not the extras around it. Legal fees, a builder’s report, a valuation and moving costs all need to come from somewhere else, so it is worth planning for those separately.
Your provider is the only one who can confirm your exact figure, so it is worth asking them early rather than working from a guess.
From asking the question to the money landing with your solicitor. Most providers take 10 to 15 working days once they have everything, so this is worth starting well before settlement.
Three years of membership, a home you will live in, and a balance worth withdrawing. We can work this out in one conversation.
They confirm what is available and send you the application form. Ask them how long they currently take.
I arrange your pre-approval so you know what you can spend once the KiwiSaver money is counted as part of your deposit.
Your solicitor handles the agreement and tells you exactly when the KiwiSaver money needs to be there.
Your solicitor sends the application with the supporting documents. Allow at least three weeks before settlement.
Your provider pays it into your solicitor’s trust account and it goes through on settlement day.
If settlement is close and the KiwiSaver money is not going to arrive in time, say so early. There are usually ways around it, but not at the last minute.
Every lender treats low deposits differently, and those rules change. I put your application where it has the best chance rather than wherever is quickest.
Paperwork, lender questions, conditions coming back. I handle the back and forth so you can get on with your life.
The lender pays me once your loan settles. That is the same whether you are buying with 5% or with 20%.
I work with first home buyers in Tauranga, Mount Maunganui, Pāpāmoa and across the Bay of Plenty, and with plenty of people who live nowhere near me. Most of this happens by phone, email and video call, so where you are does not change the advice or how easy it is to reach me. If you are local and would rather sit down together, that is easy to arrange.
The things first home buyers ask me most about using their KiwiSaver.
Almost all of it. You can withdraw your contributions, your employer contributions, the government contributions and the investment returns on all of them. A minimum of $1,000 must stay in the account. There is no upper limit on the amount you can take out.
At least three years. It does not need to be three years of unbroken contributions, and changing providers along the way does not reset the clock. If you are close to the three year mark it is worth checking your exact join date with your provider.
Most providers take 10 to 15 working days once they have a complete application. Your solicitor should start the process at least three weeks before settlement, because a missing document can hold the whole thing up.
No. Your provider pays it into your solicitor’s trust account, never into your personal bank account. Your solicitor holds it until it is needed for the deposit or for settlement.
Possibly. The withdrawal is normally for people who have never owned property, but if you have owned a home and your financial position is now similar to a first home buyer, Kāinga Ora can assess whether you qualify. It is worth asking rather than assuming the answer is no.
No. The home has to be in New Zealand and you have to intend to live in it. Investment properties and holiday homes do not qualify.
No. The First Home Grant closed on 30 May 2024 and has not been replaced. The KiwiSaver first home withdrawal is still available, and so is the First Home Loan, which allows a 5% deposit.
For some people yes, for many it is part of the picture alongside savings, a gift from family, or one of the low deposit options. Working out the gap is usually the first useful thing we do together.
Nothing. My service is free to you, because the lender pays me once your loan settles. If that ever would not be the case, I would tell you before we started.
