Property

Alternative to first home grant

Auckland-based entrepreneur Derek Handley has set up a privately funded financial services group offering an alternative first home loan scheme.

Sunday, June 23rd 2024

He says he felt compelled to do this after the Government scrapped the first home loan grant.

His platform Aera is designed for first homeowners to open investment accounts with the aim of saving towards a home deposit. It is offering $10,000 in credits, which can be redeemed for a first house deposit.

The savings products, which have targeted annualised returns of up to 7.15%, unlock Aera’s Deposit Credits programme giving first-home buyers a $10,000 ‘head start’ toward their first home deposit.

First-home buyers can access Aera’s head-start credits by signing up to one of Aera’s savings products, unlocking $500 upon signing up to the new plan.

Customers can then unlock credits over the course of their savings journey through hitting savings milestones and completing learning modules, up to the possible $10,000.

Handley says the government’s $10,000 first home grants made a massive difference to tens of thousands of New Zealanders, and many more would have been planning to use it in the coming years. “Our ultimate goal is to support first-home buyers into their first house irrespective of how far they are into their savings journey,” he says.

Unlike the government grants, which had regional price caps on new homes and incomes, Aera’s programme is for all first-time home buyers.

It is aiming at 5,000 accounts as a starting point. “We are rolling the full programme out over the coming months and there are a lot of developments to come,” he says.

“We want to go further than the government scheme, though, by providing savings products, education and motivation to give Kiwis the best chance at hitting their goal.”

The pilot scheme will be available to 5,000 first-home savers initially, representing a significant proportion of the yearly first home grant recipients.

Comments

No comments yet

SBS FirstHome Combo 4.69
TSB Special 5.35
Unity First Home Buyer special 5.49
ASB Bank 5.49
Westpac Special 5.49
Co-operative Bank - First Home Special 5.49
AIA - Go Home Loans 5.49
Heartland Bank - Online 5.49
ICBC 5.55
Kiwibank Special 5.55
Nelson Building Society 5.55
BNZ - Std 5.29
TSB Special 5.29
ASB Bank 5.29
Kiwibank Special 5.29
Westpac Special 5.29
AIA - Go Home Loans 5.29
Heartland Bank - Online 5.39
ANZ Special 5.44
Unity 5.49
Co-operative Bank - Owner Occ 5.49
SBS Bank Special 5.49
Westpac Special 5.39
BNZ - Classic 5.59
ASB Bank 5.79
BNZ - Std 5.79
ICBC 5.79
SBS Bank Special 5.79
AIA - Go Home Loans 5.79
Co-operative Bank - Owner Occ 5.89
Kiwibank Special 5.89
TSB Special 5.89
Kainga Ora 5.89
AIA - Back My Build 4.94
SBS FirstHome Combo 4.94
CFML 321 Loans 5.80
CFML Home Loans 6.25
Co-operative Bank - Owner Occ 6.45
Co-operative Bank - Standard 6.45
Kiwibank - Offset 6.75
Kiwibank 6.75
ASB Bank 6.89
ANZ 6.89
BNZ - Std 6.94

More Stories

Friday, January 31st 2025

[TMM Podcast] Yelsa serves up “marine reserve” of property buyers

It’s been years in the making and former real estate agent Mike Harvey is now coming to market with his platform matching buyers and sellers, an offering he says will be a gamechanger for the industry.

Leaving last year's stumbling housing market behind

Friday, January 17th 2025

Leaving last year's stumbling housing market behind

As interest rates ease and job losses climb, New Zealand’s housing market faces a mixed year of modest growth, with conflicting forces shaping the outlook for homebuyers and investors.

Don’t bet on house prices rising faster than incomes

Wednesday, January 15th 2025

Don’t bet on house prices rising faster than incomes

Former Reserve Bank Governor and National Party leader Don Brash says there are grounds for believing that house prices may finally have ended the three-decade period when they rose significantly faster than incomes.

Similar Price Growth

Friday, January 10th 2025

Similar Price Growth

Although houses prices typically rise more than apartments over the long-term, the gap is not as wide as many people expect.