The Reserve Bank’s loan-to-value ratio (LVR) rules mean you usually need a deposit that’s at least 20% of the property’s value for a home you will live in. For an investment property it rises to 40%, however this is expected to become 35% from 1 June 2023. Some low-deposit (high LVR) exemptions are allowed, provided you can afford the repayments. A deposit as low as 10% (90% LVR) is allowed for a new-build property, for both owner-occupier and investor loans. However, each bank can only have 10% of their lending with low-deposit owner-occupiers and 5% with low-deposit investors. The owner-occupier allocation limit is expected to rise to 15% from 1 June 2023. With current house prices and interest rates, your income needs to be quite high to meet the affordability criteria for a low-deposit home loan. A deposit as low as 5% may be possible if you meet the low-income and other criteria for a Kāinga Ora First Home Loan.