There's no disputing that the housing market has been in the doldrums over the past couple of years. REINZ's stats show that the country's median house price has remained pretty static since 2023. It's currently $775k, down from 2021's high of $905k.
However, despite house prices levelling out, as interest rates have dropped over the past couple of years, the size of new mortgages have increased slightly.
Here's a quick breakdown of average mortgage sizes in New Zealand, and you can find a more detailed rundown of the stats below:
Total lending ($million) | 2024 | 2025 | 2026 (Jan-Apr) |
|---|---|---|---|
Average mortgage used to purchase house | $566,914 | $601,700 | $607,399 |
Average first home buyer mortgage | $554,772 | $577,696 | $584,533 |
Average owner-occupier mortgage | $309,957 | $335,102 | $318,196 |
Average investor mortgage | $533,764 | $562,475 | $544,355 |
Average mortgage top-up | $101,014 | $103,510 | $101,413 |
Total home loan borrowing
So far this year, total mortgage lending has been strong, slightly up on the same period last year:
- Jan-April 2025: $27,045m
- Jan-April 2026: $30,150m
If the trend continues over the second half of the year, 2026's lending figures will be above the numbers recorded over the past four years.
Total lending ($million) | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 2026 (Jan-Apr) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
All borrower types | $68,948 | $62,116 | $75,261 | $99,891 | $30,150 |
First home buyers | $13,349 | $14,677 | $15,963 | $18,975 | $6,092 |
Other owner-occupiers | $43,046 | $35,995 | $43,217 | $58,541 | $17,749 |
Investors | $11,716 | $10,554 | $15,034 | $21,189 | $5987 |
Business purposes | $836 | $889 | $1048 | $1185 | $413 |
Number of home loan borrowers
There's been a steady rise in the number of borrowers, too:
- Jan-April 2025: 71,612
- Jan-April 2026: 78,139
Total No. Borrowers | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 2026 (Jan-Apr) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
All borrower types | 181,016 | 173,814 | 199,715 | 248,734 | 78,139 |
First home buyers | 23,275 | 26,390 | 28,774 | 32,846 | 10,422 |
Other owner-occupiers | 132,581 | 123,062 | 139,429 | 174,696 | 55,780 |
Investors | 22,321 | 21,403 | 28,166 | 37,671 | 10,833 |
Business purposes | 2839 | 2959 | 3346 | 3,521 | 1104 |
Average home loans by type
And loan sizes are back to 2022 levels:
Average Mortgage | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
All borrower types | $380,895 | $357,371 | $376,842 | $401,598 | $385,851 |
First home buyers | $573,534 | $556,158 | $554,772 | $577,696 | $584,533 |
Other owner-occupiers | $324,677 | $292,495 | $309,957 | $335,102 | $318,196 |
Investors | $524,887 | $493,108 | $533,764 | $562,475 | $544,355 |
Business Purposes | $294,470 | $300,439 | $313,210 | $336,552 | $374,094 |
Average home loans by purpose
If you drill down into the numbers and look only at mortgages for the purpose of buying a home, the size of the average Kiwi mortgage becomes clear.
It's also interesting see the benchmark for the average mortgage top-up is around $100,000.
Average Mortgage | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
All property purchases | $600,078 | $548,804 | $566,914 | $601,700 | $607,399 |
Top-ups | $110,857 | $100,968 | $101,014 | $103,510 | $101,413 |
Average home loan repayments
By feeding the above figures into Canstar’s home loan repayment calculator, you can see the monthly repayments needed to service the mortgages.
The following calculations are for a loan repayment on principal and interest, paid monthly over 25 years, using the average 2-year fixed rates on Canstar's database for residential mortgages (5.33%) and investor lending (5.42%), plus SBS Bank's special 1-year fixed FirstHome Combo rate for first home buyers (4.19%):
Approx monthly repayments on average new home loans
Borrower type | Average mortgage/repayments |
|---|---|
All property purchases | $607,399 – $3665/m |
First home buyers | $584,533 – $3147/m |
Other owner-occupiers | $318,196– $1920/m |
Investors | $544,355 – $3320/m |
So, if you're looking to buy a property, how does your possible mortgage compare with the current averages, and what type of rate is your lender offering?
