First-home buyers accounted for a record 29.5 percent of New Zealand property purchases in the September quarter, according to the latest Cotality–Westpac report. The share rose from 28.3 percent in the previous quarter as newcomers continued buying in a subdued market.
The median price paid by first-home buyers so far in 2026 was $715,000. Auckland's figure was $868,000, compared with $720,000 in Wellington and $650,000 in Christchurch, RNZ reported. For households saving a deposit while paying rent, those prices put the record market share in perspective.
A larger share of a quiet market
Cotality chief property economist Kelvin Davidson describes first-home buyers as a relatively strong part of the market. A rising share can also reflect weaker activity among other buyers, so the percentage alone does not establish that home ownership has become easy.
RNZ reported about 25,000 first-home purchases over the preceding 12 months, alongside tentative signs that activity was easing. The volume and the share measure different things: buyers can hold a larger proportion of sales without their own purchase numbers accelerating.
Standalone houses made up 76 percent of first-home purchases so far this year, according to the joint report. That is a national pattern, not a guarantee that the same choices are affordable in every neighbourhood.
What lower repayments do, and do not, show
Westpac's analysis estimates that mortgage repayments on an average first-home purchase are about $560 a month lower than in 2023, using the prices and interest rates in its comparison. It puts the Auckland saving at about $685 a month.
Those are modelled comparisons, not repayment quotes for an individual borrower. The result changes with the loan size, deposit, term and rate offered. Westpac senior economist Satish Ranchhod also notes that mortgage rates have recently risen, even though they remain below their 2023 levels.
The report draws on a joint Cotality–Westpac research exercise. The two organisations' accounts should not be mistaken for independent surveys confirming one another, and Westpac is itself a mortgage lender.
The deposit remains a barrier
Recent lending figures discussed in the coverage show more than half of first-home lending going to borrowers with deposits below 20 percent. That indicates how purchases are being financed; it does not establish that every applicant can obtain a low-deposit loan.
RNZ also reported an average first-home buyer age of 35.5 in Westpac's borrower data. That is a figure for the bank's customers, rather than an average for every first-home buyer in New Zealand.
For prospective buyers, the report offers evidence of a market where newcomers have more presence. The practical decision still depends on a household's own deposit and capacity to keep making repayments as rates and other living costs change.
