About this calculator
The loan-to-value ratio is the loan divided by the property's value, and the Reserve Bank sets how much of a bank's lending may run at high LVRs. Under the settings in force since 1 December 2025 — eased then, and held in the Financial Policy Committee's August 2026 review — the standard line for owner-occupiers is 80% LVR, a 20% deposit, with banks allowed to put up to 25% of new lending above it. For investors the line is 70% LVR, a 30% deposit, with a tighter 10% speed limit above it. Those are not bans: they are quotas. A borrower with a 10% deposit is not breaking a rule; they are asking the bank to spend some of its high-LVR allowance on them, which is why identical applications get different answers at different banks.
Two escape routes are built into the system. New builds are exempt from the LVR restrictions altogether — buy a home fresh from the developer (or build one) and the deposit is a negotiation with the bank, not a regulatory line; 20% remains the common expectation, 10% is not unusual. And eligible first-home buyers can use a Kāinga Ora First Home Loan, underwritten by the Crown and offered by participating lenders, with just a 5% deposit. Borrow above 80% LVR on the open market and pricing follows you: banks charge a low-equity margin (an interest premium, often 0.25%–0.75%+ scaled by LVR) or a one-off low-equity premium, and some step the margin down as your LVR falls.
How to use it
- Enter the price of the property you are targeting.
- Pick your buyer type — existing home or new build, owner-occupier or investor, or the First Home Loan path.
- Add your savings (KiwiSaver withdrawal included — see the withdrawal calculator if you need the number).
- Compare your deposit share and LVR against the standard line, and read the shortfall you would need to close — or ask the bank's high-LVR allowance to cover.
The formula
The LVR is measured at origination against the lower of the purchase price or a registered valuation for existing homes — a valuation below the price raises the deposit needed, a common trap at auction. Speed limits (25% of new owner-occupier lending above 80% LVR, 10% of investor lending above 70%) are shares of a bank's monthly new lending, not per-borrower entitlements.
Worked example
An NZ$800,000 existing home: an owner-occupier needs the standard NZ$160,000 deposit for a NZ$640,000 loan; an investor needs NZ$240,000 for NZ$560,000. With NZ$100,000 saved, the owner-occupier is NZ$60,000 short and would be borrowing at 87.5% LVR — inside the bank's 25% high-LVR allowance if it has room, priced with a low-equity margin. As a new build, the same purchase is exempt from the restriction and the NZ$100,000 (12.5%) is a bank decision, often workable. Through a First Home Loan, the required deposit is just NZ$40,000.
Sources: RBNZ loan-to-valuation ratio restrictions as eased 1 December 2025 and maintained in the Financial Policy Committee annual review, August 2026; Kainga Ora First Home Loan eligibility settings, current October 2026. Last updated: October 2026.
Frequently asked questions
Can I actually buy with less than 20% deposit?
Yes, routinely — the 20% is a lending-share threshold, not a legal minimum. Since December 2025 banks may put up to a quarter of their new owner-occupier lending above 80% LVR, and pre-approvals at 10% deposit are common for strong applicants with clean serviceability. What changes is price and certainty: expect a low-equity margin on the rate (or a one-off premium), possibly a registered valuation condition, and an approval that depends on the bank's quota that month.
Why do investors need 30%?
Investor lending is treated as riskier and more pro-cyclical: in downturns landlords sell into falling markets and losses correlate. The Reserve Bank has held a lower investor LVR threshold since 2016; the December 2025 easing moved it from 65% to 70% LVR (35% to 30% deposit) and lifted the above-threshold speed limit from 5% to 10%. Equity in the home you live in can often serve as the deposit for a rental — the LVR test applies across the combined collateral.
What exactly counts as a "new build" for the exemption?
A property bought from the developer within six months of the code compliance certificate being issued, or a construction loan for a home being built. The exemption covers both the LVR restrictions and the DTI framework. Buying a nearly-new home from its first owner a year later does not qualify — the exemption is about adding housing supply, and it belongs to the first purchase from the builder.
What is a low-equity margin, and when does it stop?
An interest-rate premium banks add to high-LVR loans, typically from about 0.25% at 80–85% LVR rising to 0.75% or more above 90%, though it varies by bank and some charge a single low-equity premium instead. It is usually reviewed as your LVR falls — through repayments or a new valuation — and many banks remove it once you are at or under 80%. Ask at approval exactly how yours steps down; on an $800,000 loan, 0.5% is roughly $330 a month at first.
Who qualifies for the 5% First Home Loan?
First-home buyers (and some previous owners Kāinga Ora assesses as being in a comparable position) meeting income caps — NZ$95,000 for a single buyer, NZ$150,000 for two or more buyers, in recent settings — buying within regional house-price caps, with at least 5% deposit from genuine savings (a KiwiSaver withdrawal counts). The loan is underwritten by Kāinga Ora and provided by participating banks and lenders, and it is exempt from the DTI framework. Check the current caps before relying on them; they are reset periodically.
What formula does this nz deposit & lvr calculator — how much deposit do you need? calculator use?
Required deposit = price × standard deposit share (20% owner-occupier, 30% investor, 5% First Home Loan); LVR = (price − your savings) ÷ price The LVR is measured at origination against the lower of the purchase price or a registered valuation for existing homes — a valuation below the price raises the deposit needed, a common trap at auction. Speed limits (25% of new owner-occupier lending above 80% LVR, 10% of investor lending above 70%) are shares of a bank's monthly new lending, not per-borrower entitlements. The worked example on this page applies the formula step by step with real numbers, so you can verify the result by hand.