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You’re not alone — some of our team have just navigated the highs, lows, and unexpected twists of the 2025 property market. To give you a real-world glimpse into what it’s like out there, we’ve asked them to share their home-buying journeys in a quick-fire Q&A. From choosing the right mortgage to picking suburbs, deposit-saving hacks to auction-day nerves — these are the stories behind the sold signs.
Whether you're just starting your search or already deep in open home territory, these insights might help you feel a little more prepared (or at least a little less alone!).
Broker or bank — who helped seal the deal? Broker - Graham
What made up your deposit — savings, KiwiSaver, gifts? Sale of our existing house
How did you buy — auction, tender, or negotiation? Negotiation
Was it your first step on the ladder or a second leap? Second :)
Living in it or renting it out? Living in.
How many homes did you view before finding “the one”? Zero this time - LOTS for our first home (but only ever offered on the two properties and we got both, lol)
What was your absolute must-have feature? Land! (and fruit trees).
Where did you buy — and what drew you to that suburb? Horowhenua - First home was in Otaki, the house and land were the selling points but we love being up the coast.
What was the most nail-biting moment of the process? We had to hope our house sold for the amount we needed, in the timeframe we had, without someone else offering on the new property
One golden tip you'd give someone buying in Wellington now? Now is a great time to buy. Prices are low and rates are coming down. Offer a little lower, you never know what the vendor may accept. If you are selling and buying, remember you are selling and buying in the same market so you may "lose" money selling your property, but you may be buying the next at a great price! And honestly, just use a broker. It will be way less stressful for you.
If you are selling and buying, remember you are selling and buying in the same market. So you may "lose" money selling your property, but you may be buying the next at a great price!
Broker or bank — who helped seal the deal? Manisha, our broker from Velocity Financial (thank you Manisha!!!) I also want to thank the other Velocity & Caveo advisers who have helped me with various financial bits and pieces over the years too -Simon, Elizabeth, Giovana and Alice. I have been well looked after!!
What made up your deposit — savings, KiwiSaver, gifts? Cash from savings and equity from a rental property we co-bought as friends in 2023 (also with the help of Velocity)
How did you buy — auction, tender, or negotiation? Deadline sale. We lost out to another buyer, then their deal fell through, so we got another chance and won the tender, yay!
Was it your first step on the ladder or a second leap? Not my first rodeo, but it honestly feels just as good.
Living in it or renting it out? This one is our Owner-occupied, family home.
How many homes did you view before finding “the one”? Probably 30? It felt like a million... we looked at open homes every Sunday for months...
What was your absolute must-have feature? Space for the family, fencing for the dog, and sun. After that, we had open minds.
Where did you buy — and what drew you to that suburb? Upper Hutt. Financially you get more square metres for your dollar than in town. But more than that, we love being closer to the river, the bush, the forests and mountain ranges.
What was the most nail-biting moment of the process? Waiting for bank to produce the loan offer in time to meet our conditions deadline!
One golden tip you'd give someone buying in Wellington now? If you work from a home a lot and can manage the commute, buy in the suburbs. It is a lot cheaper. Also, do yourself a favour and use a broker!! It is SO much easier.
We love being close to the river, the bush, the forests and mountain ranges.
Broker or bank — who helped seal the deal?
We used a broker!
What made up your deposit — savings, KiwiSaver, gifts?
Our deposit was my KiwiSaver — we were low-deposit buyers!
How did you buy — auction, tender, or negotiation?
We purchased the home at auction. It was an amazing experience being in the auction room, but I don't know if I would recommend buying a home at auction as a low-deposit first-home buyer. The hurdles we had to jump and the work we had to do to get the home signed off were insane. It probably didn’t help that the home had “as is where is” written in the S&P, and there’s work that needs to be done (it pretty much needs a full internal renovation to make it more modern, along with some maintenance work). But being a 1960s gem — “it has great bones”! Pretty much everything about the home should have made it an impossible buy for us, BUT if there’s a will, there’s a way! And if it’s meant to be, it’ll be.
Was it your first step on the ladder or a second leap?
First home!!
Living in it or renting it out?
After some renovations, we’ll be living here — probably for the rest of our lives, haha!
How many homes did you view before finding “the one”?
We only viewed a couple of homes. All of them had been 'flipped' and were presented perfectly, but I felt like they lacked personality and were quite small. We never got the “wooowww” moment. The market isn’t booming with listings at the moment, but I was keeping a close eye daily on new listings. When our now-home popped up on TradeMe, I jumped in straight away and viewed it that night. We then worked very hard for three weeks to get the sign-off because it was pretty much love at first sight. I know people say you need to view multiple houses and not rush into it — blah blah blah — but seriously, when you know, you know. From the moment I walked in, I was like, “This is our home.”
What was your absolute must-have feature?
Well… originally, we were kind of looking for something that didn’t need any work. It also needed a garage or room for one. And now we have a home that needs a full kitchen and bathroom on top of other things before we even move in. So be open-minded with your “must-haves,” lol! (Never fear — there is a huge garage.)
Where did you buy — and what drew you to that suburb?
We bought in Lower Hutt. We’re currently renting about 700 metres away from my daughter’s school, so it was hard to move to any other suburb because we’re so close to everything we need! Our current street is so quiet and has such a kind neighbourhood, and I was upset about moving away from that. Our new home is JUST around the corner from where we are now though — so it was a win-win.
What was the most nail-biting moment of the process?
We had our pre-approval all sorted about a month or so before we found this house. But we had to get the house signed off by the bank before going to auction. We had two sign-offs on the go (our main option and a backup — a perk of having a broker, because you can’t do this if you go direct). The auction was at 12:30 p.m. on a Thursday — we got one sign-off/approval at 10:15 p.m. on the Wednesday, and the second sign-off at 11 a.m. on the Thursday. It felt so weird getting everything ready to go without even knowing if the home was going to be approved!!!
One golden tip you'd give someone buying in Wellington now?
From a completely unbiased point of view — USE A MORTGAGE BROKER. As I mentioned above, everything about this home should have made it unreachable for us, and we genuinely could not have done this without the help of Manisha. She was so patient with me throughout the entire process, put up with all of my questions and anxiety, and I genuinely believe that if we hadn’t used a broker, we wouldn’t have been able to get this signed off by ourselves. The things the bank was asking for were wild, and Manisha did an amazing job relaying it to me and helping me get what I needed. Also — ask the questions! If you’re unsure of your options, just ask. This applies to your mortgage adviser, lawyer, and real estate agent. No question is a silly question.
It was pretty much love at first sight. I know people say you need to view multiple houses and not rush into it — blah blah blah — but seriously, when you know, you know. From the moment I walked in, I was like, “This is our home.”
Broker or bank — who helped seal the deal?
Lance Shearman, broker extraordinaire! Also, a mortgage through BNZ.
What made up your deposit — savings, KiwiSaver, gifts?
Our deposit came entirely through KiwiSaver, we were able to do this by investing in the right funds for our timeframe and moving to conservative funds before making the offer
How did you buy — auction, tender, or negotiation?
Tender
Was it your first step on the ladder or a second leap?
First step on the property ladder, very excited to hop on
Living in it or renting it out?
Living in.
How many homes did you view before finding “the one”?
We visited a few, roughly 5-6. This was the only one we offered on.
What was your absolute must-have feature?
3 bedrooms and a great living flow
Where did you buy — and what drew you to that suburb?
Ngaio, moving closer to Wellington for our lifestyle and daughter starting college
What was the most nail-biting moment of the process?
Waiting! There was another offer we were going up against but thankfully, having an unconditional offer pulled us through
One golden tip you'd give someone buying in Wellington now?
if possible, make an unconditional offer. Your mortgage broker will help you to craft the best offer possible.
Our deposit came entirely through KiwiSaver, we were able to do this by investing in the right funds for our timeframe and moving to conservative funds before making the offer.
Have you bought a home recently or are you in the thick of it now? We'd love to hear your story — share your experience with Shona if you’d like to be featured in a future post.
Want to talk to our advisers about how to get into your own home in 2025 or 2026? Book a free mortgage consultation with our team here.
Ngā Mihi,
The VF Team
This article was written by Shona and peer reviewed byour financial advisory team.
Disclaimer: Shona is not afinancial adviser. The above is generalised information that has beenpeer-reviewed by the Velocity Financial Advisory team. As always, before youmake any financial decisions, discuss your situation with an adviser fromVelocity Financial, and seek advice from professionals, such as a lawyer andaccountant, to find the best solution for your unique situation.
About Shona:Hi, I’m Shona, the communications and marketing support person for VelocityFinancial. Designing effective communications in a complex industry such asFinance is a worthy challenge. Finding ways to bridge gaps between complexfinancial information, and the everyday needs of people trying to navigate thatworld through informed choices, is something that I relish. I love decipheringand disseminating the expert knowledge and ideas of our clever team, intosimple messages that speak directly to our clients, who are hungry for moreknowledge and better understanding (like me!). In my outside life, I am a keenphotographer and, like others in the team, I have a passion for the outdoors,hiking and mountain biking. I also train in martial arts and have been known towield a sword on occasion.
Always get professional advice
The information shared in this post is meant to begeneral guide to support you on your journey. When making important decisionsabout your finances, we encourage you to seek independent financial advicefirst, tailored to your unique situation. As well as talking with a financial adviser, make sure you talk to yourlawyer and accountant too – together they'll help you find the best solutionfor your specific situation. Our knowledgeable financial advisers are here tohelp. Check out our website for the details about our financial advisoryservices in our disclosures https://www.velocityfinancial.co.nz/disclosure-statement.