How much can I borrow for a house in NZ?

How much you can borrow for a house in New Zealand comes down to four things banks weigh together: your gross income, your regular living costs and existing debts, the size of your deposit, and the bank's own serviceability test. That test stress-tests your repayments at an interest rate well above what you would actually pay today, then checks how much is left over after your expenses and other debts are covered, so a genuinely tight budget or heavy debt load can shrink your borrowing power even on a solid income. Debt-to-income (DTI) limits and your deposit, expressed as a loan-to-value ratio (LVR), then cap the total further; a bigger deposit and fewer other debts both lift what you are approved for. As a rough starting point, many lenders land somewhere around five to six times gross household income, though DTI and LVR rules mean that figure is only ever a guide, not a guarantee. Because every bank applies its own test rate and buffer, the only reliable way to know your real borrowing capacity is to run your own numbers. Use the borrowing capacity calculator below to work out an estimate from your income, expenses and deposit, then check the repayment calculators to see what those repayments would actually cost you each month. This is indicative only, not financial advice, and your own bank's assessment may differ.

Work it out

Indicative only, not financial advice. Uses current New Zealand rates for 2026/27. Last reviewed 2026-07-02. See also financial literacy NZ.

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