Market Insights
Number of first home buyers getting into a home of their own at an eight year low
The number of first home buyers getting into a home of their own at the start of this year was at its lowest level since 2015.
According to the latest Reserve Bank figures, banks approved just 1166 mortgages for first home buyers in January, the lowest number in any month of the year since January 2015 (apart from April 2020 when housing market activity came to a standstill due to the Covid lockdown).
And as mortgage interest rates have been steadily rising, the amount being borrowed by first home buyers has been steadily decreasing.
In January this year the average value of the loans approved to first home buyers was $548,885. That's down by $46,513 (-7.8%) from its May 2022 peak of $595,398.
However almost a third of those loans approved in January this year were low equity loans to first first home buyers with less than a 20% deposit.
In January this year, 370 low equity mortgages were approved to first home buyers.
Although that is a low number, it made up 31.7% of all the mortgage approved to first home buyers in January.
That was the first time the low equity loans to first home buyers have gone above 30% of the total since November 2021, when house prices also hit their cyclical peak.
While rising interest rates have reduced the number of first home buyers getting into their own homes, they are also affecting the amount they are paying for them.
Although higher interest costs mean fewer aspiring first home buyers are getting into a home of their own, they are proving to be a more resilient part of the market than either investors or existing owner-occupiers.
However the low overall number of mortgages being approved to aspiring first home buyers suggests that home ownership likely remains an impossible dream for many.
Poll: Would you rather: Christmas in summer forever or winter forever?
Just a bit of a fun poll to get you thinking.
If you had to live out your Christmas days, would you prefer it was a summer Christmas or a winter Christmas?
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62.5% Summer
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36% Winter
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1.5% Other - I'll share below
What word sums up 2024, neighbours?
If 2020 was the year of lockdowns, banana bread, and WFH (work from home)....
In one word, how would you define 2024?
We're excited to see what you come up with!
⚠️ DOGS DIE IN HOT CARS. If you love them, don't leave them. ⚠️
It's a message we share time and time again, and this year, we're calling on you to help us spread that message further.
Did you know that calls to SPCA about dogs left inside hot cars made up a whopping 11% of all welfare calls last summer? This is a completely preventable issue, and one which is causing hundreds of dogs (often loved pets) to suffer.
Here are some quick facts to share with the dog owners in your life:
👉 The temperature inside a car can heat to over 50°C in less than 15 minutes.
👉 Parking in the shade and cracking windows does little to help on a warm day. Dogs rely on panting to keep cool, which they can't do in a hot car.
👉 This puts dogs at a high risk of heatstroke - a serious condition for dogs, with a mortality rate between 39%-50%.
👉 It is an offence under the Animal Welfare Act to leave a dog in a hot vehicle if they are showing signs of heat stress. You can be fined, and prosecuted.
SPCA has created downloadable resources to help you spread the message even further. Posters, a flyer, and a social media tile can be downloaded from our website here: www.spca.nz...
We encourage you to use these - and ask your local businesses to display the posters if they can. Flyers can be kept in your car and handed out as needed.
This is a community problem, and one we cannot solve alone. Help us to prevent more tragedies this summer by sharing this post.
On behalf of the animals - thank you ❤️
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