Is the First Home Grant still available in NZ?
Short answer
No — the First Home Grant was discontinued on 22 May 2024. It paid up to $10,000 per buyer ($20,000 per couple) for new builds and up to $5,000 / $10,000 for existing homes. The First Home Loan (5% deposit through Kainga Ora) is still available, as is the KiwiSaver First Home Withdrawal. Many search results and articles online still describe the grant as active — that information is out of date.
Source: Kainga Ora — kaingaora.govt.nz. Updated May 2026.
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Check a builderKey facts
- Discontinued 22 May 2024
- Was up to $10k per buyer / $20k per couple for new builds
- First Home Loan (5% deposit) is still available
- KiwiSaver First Home Withdrawal is still available
- Income and price caps apply to both remaining schemes
What you can still use
First Home Loan: borrow with a 5% deposit instead of 20%, via participating lenders. Kainga Ora underwrites the gap above 80% LVR. Income and price caps apply (and refresh each year).
KiwiSaver First Home Withdrawal: withdraw most of your KiwiSaver balance to put toward a deposit. Conditions: been a member for 3+ years, must be your first home, must intend to live in it for at least 6 months.
Combined, these get many first-home buyers from 5-10% genuine savings to a deposit. The grant added an outright cash injection that's no longer available.
Why so much content still says it's active
The grant ran for years, and the policy change in May 2024 didn't get the publicity of bigger reforms. Many bank pages, broker blogs, real-estate articles, and Google answer-bot citations still describe it as live.
If you're reading anything dated before mid-2024 about the First Home Grant, assume the grant part is out of date. Check kaingaora.govt.nz for the current authoritative position.
Knowing the rules is half the job. The other half is knowing who you're hiring. Check any NZ builder against the public record: company status, licensing and insolvency notices, from the official NZ sources.
Related questions
Sources: Kainga Ora — kaingaora.govt.nz; NZ Government Budget 2024 announcements. General information for NZ homeowners, not legal advice. Building rules change and vary by council, so confirm critical details on the official source before acting. Last updated 2026-05.