PHOTO: First Home Grant
New figures show the Government’s First Home grant, previously called HomeStart, is increasingly out of touch with the country’s housing market.
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“We were very excited that the Government could help us get into our first home, we then soon found out that we just couldn’t find anything that would be suitable for that price range,” Lower Hutt first home buyer Jason Firth told 1 NEWS.
Check you are eligible for First Home Grant
House price caps
| Region | Existing/older properties | New properties |
| Auckland, Queenstown Lakes District | $600,000 | $650,000 |
| Hamilton City, Tauranga City, Western Bay of Plenty District, Kāpiti Coast District, Porirua City, Upper Hutt City, Hutt City, Wellington City, Tasman District, Nelson City, Waimakariri District, Christchurch City, Selwyn District | $500,000 | $550,000 |
| Rest of New Zealand | $400,000 | $500,000 |
Regions are defined by city and district council boundaries
In the last year, Real Estate Institute of New Zealand figures show most house sales in main centres would not qualify for the grant, except for Christchurch.
In the Auckland region, 86 per cent of houses were above the price caps, for Queenstown Lakes District that rose to 91 per cent, in Wellington, just 10 per cent of house sales in the last year would have been eligible and for Porirua, just 11 per cent.
For Hamilton, 76 per cent of houses were above limits, for Hutt Valley, 77 per cent, Kapiti Coast, 82 per cent, Nelson, 72 per cent, Selwyn District, 70 per cent, Tasman District, 83 per cent, Tauranga, 88 per cent, Western Bay of Plenty District, 80 per cent, and for the rest of New Zealand, an average of 60 per cent.
READ MORE VIA TVNZ
