{"id":18407,"date":"2026-09-03T06:01:28","date_gmt":"2026-09-02T18:01:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thebuzz.apnanetwork.co.nz\/?p=18407"},"modified":"2026-09-03T06:01:28","modified_gmt":"2026-09-02T18:01:28","slug":"weve-lost-half-our-deposit-about-4000-first-home-buyers-owe-more-than-their-homes-worth","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thebuzz.apnanetwork.co.nz\/?p=18407","title":{"rendered":"‘We’ve lost half our deposit’: About 4000 first-home buyers owe more than their homes worth"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Rising interest rates<\/a>\u00a0are not welcome news for most borrowers, but they hit especially hard for those who are paying off a home loan on a house that is now worth less than they paid for it.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Cotality chief economist Kelvin Davidson said, assuming all first-home buyers had a 20 percent deposit at the time they purchased, there were still about 3600 households nationwide who now owed more than the value of their homes.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Most would be people who had bought during the peak of the market, in late 2021 and early 2022. Prices are\u00a0still down about 17 percent<\/a>\u00a0since that point, and more than 20 percent in Auckland and Wellington. Some parts of the country, such as Canterbury and Otago, have since returned to the prior peaks.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The true number in negative equity is likely to be higher than 3600 because many bought with a deposit much smaller than 20 percent. Cotality said about 29,000 first-home buyers bought properties during the 18-month peak of the market and a large proportion of them would now still be worth less than they paid.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Some recent buyers have posted anonymously on social media in recent weeks, sharing the human implications of the downturn.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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