How long does it take to buy a house in NZ?

There is no standard timeframe. The key dates — when your conditions must be met and when settlement happens — are set in your Sale and Purchase Agreement, and you negotiate them with the seller. The LIM has a statutory timeframe: the council must issue it within 10 working days of your request.

Do I get the LIM and builder's report before or after I make an offer?

It depends on how the property is being sold. For most sales — by advertised price, negotiation or deadline sale — you can make a conditional offer and do your checks afterwards, before your condition deadlines. At auction, the winning bid is unconditional, so your checks need to be done before you bid.

Do I need a lawyer to buy a house?

In practice, yes. The legal work of transferring a property is done by a lawyer or a licensed conveyancer. Real estate agents must recommend you get legal advice before you sign a Sale and Purchase Agreement, and give you a reasonable chance to get it.

Can I change my mind after my offer is accepted?

Generally not. New Zealand has no general cooling-off period for buying a house. Once both you and the seller have signed, the agreement is legally binding. You can't simply change your mind — whether you can cancel depends on the conditions and other rights in the agreement or at law.

Buying your first home in NZ: the steps, in order

Q: What are the steps to buying a house in NZ?

Buying a first home in New Zealand follows six stages: get ready (budget, deposit and KiwiSaver), get pre-approved and find the house, make an offer, check the property and go unconditional, settle, then move in. At auction the order changes: you do your checks and arrange finance before you bid.

Buying your first home in New Zealand follows six stages: get ready, get pre-approved and find the house, make an offer, check the property and go unconditional, settle, then move in. For most purchases, the key checks happen between your offer being accepted and the deal becoming unconditional. At auction, they happen before you bid.

HomeStation lays out every one of these steps as a map. You can follow it for your own purchase and tick off each step as you go.

Rules below are current as at September 2026.

The six stages at a glance

Stage	What happens	Read more
1. Get ready	Work out your budget, deposit and KiwiSaver	What buying really costs
2. Get pre-approved and find the house	Know your price range, search, view, and find out how it’s being sold	Deposit and lending rules
3. Make an offer	Your lawyer reviews the agreement, you offer and negotiate	No cooling-off period
4. Check and go unconditional	Check the title, LIM, building and finance, then commit	What a LIM tells you
5. Settle	Prepare for settlement — insurance, final inspection, loan drawdown and transfer	KiwiSaver withdrawal
6. Move in	Keys, movers, power and internet, change of address	—

1. Get ready

On the map: Budget (M1), KiwiSaver (M2), Wishlist (H1)

Start with three numbers: roughly how much you can borrow, how much deposit you have, and how much extra cash you need for buying costs. A bank or mortgage adviser can give you a rough idea of your borrowing early on.

Your deposit is the part of the price you pay yourself. The bank lends you the rest. Most banks look for a 20% deposit from someone buying a home to live in. That’s a bank standard, not a law — some buyers can get in with less. How deposit rules work →

The deposit isn’t the only cost. Legal fees, reports on the property, moving and insurance all add up. The full list of costs →

KiwiSaver can help. If you’ve been a member for at least three years, you may be able to withdraw most of your savings for your first home. At least $1,000 has to stay in the account. And you must intend to live in the home — it can’t be an investment property. How the withdrawal works → · The live-in rule →

Then write down what you actually want. Must-haves, nice-to-haves, and deal-breakers — location, bedrooms, commute. It saves a lot of wasted viewings.

2. Get pre-approved and find the house

On the map: Mortgage adviser (M3), Pre-approval (M4), Search (H2), Viewings (H3), Compare (H4), The One (H5), How it’s sold (D1)

Pre-approval is a lender’s early indication of how much it’s likely to lend you, based on your income, debts and deposit. It gives you a price range to search in. It isn’t a final yes — the bank still has to approve the specific house later.

You can go to a bank directly, or use a mortgage adviser, who compares lenders for you. Using an adviser is optional.

Then the fun part: searching, going to viewings, and comparing places. One thing to know early: the real estate agent works for the seller, not for you. They must treat you fairly, but their job is to sell the house.

When you find a place you like, find out how it’s being sold. This changes your whole route:

Advertised price, negotiation or deadline sale — the most common methods in New Zealand. You can usually make a conditional offer and do your checks afterwards. A deadline sale just means the seller sets a date by which offers must come in.
Tender — you make a written offer by a closing date, usually with a deposit. Your offer can usually include conditions, such as finance or a building report.
Auction — live bidding. If you win, the sale is unconditional on the spot. More on this below.

3. Make an offer

On the map: Get a lawyer (L1), Contract (L2), Offer (D2), Negotiate (D3), Accepted (D4)

Get a lawyer or conveyancer before you sign anything. A conveyancer is a licensed specialist in transferring property. Either can handle a standard purchase.

This is backed by the rules agents work under. Before you sign, a real estate agent must recommend you get legal advice and give you a reasonable chance to get it. They must also give you the Real Estate Authority’s guide to the Sale and Purchase Agreement.

The Sale and Purchase Agreement is the contract. It sets out:

the price
the settlement date — the day the money is paid and the house becomes yours
the chattels — items that come with the house, like the oven or curtains
any conditions

Conditions are things that must happen before you’re fully committed. Common ones: your finance is approved, the LIM is satisfactory, the builder’s report is satisfactory. Each has a deadline. An offer with conditions is called a conditional offer.

The seller can accept your offer, reject it, or come back with a different price or terms. If other buyers are interested too, the agent may run a multi-offer process.

Once you and the seller have both signed, the agreement is legally binding. There’s no general cooling-off period. You can’t simply change your mind — whether you can cancel depends on the conditions and other rights in the agreement or at law. Why there’s no cooling-off period →

Buying at auction? Your route is different. A winning bid at auction is unconditional — there are no finance, LIM or building report conditions to fall back on. So everything in stage 4 needs to happen before you bid. If you win, you’ll be asked to sign the agreement and pay the deposit as soon as the auction is over.

4. Check the property and go unconditional

On the map: Title (C1), LIM (C2), Builder’s report (C3), Valuation (C4), Hazards (C5), Conditions (L3), Finance confirmed (M6), All clear (C6), Satisfied (L4), Unconditional (D5), Deposit (D6)

This is where you find out what you’re really buying — and you have to do it before your condition deadlines.

The title. The record of title is the official record of who owns the land, and any rights or restrictions attached to it. It also tells you the type of ownership — freehold, cross-lease or unit title — which makes a real difference. Title types explained →

The LIM. A Land Information Memorandum is a report from the council containing information it holds about the property — things like building consents, drainage, rates and natural hazards. By law, the council must issue it within 10 working days of your request, so order it as soon as your offer is accepted. What a LIM tells you → · Natural hazards on your LIM →

The builder’s report. An independent inspection of the building’s condition — roof, cladding, foundations, moisture. What it covers, and what it misses →

A valuation. An independent estimate of what the property is worth. Your bank may ask for one before it lends.

Your finance. The bank confirms it will lend for this house, not just in general.

When everything checks out, your lawyer tells the seller’s lawyer, in writing, that your conditions are met or waived. The agreement is now unconditional. You’re committed to buy.

Around this point, the deposit may also be due. Your Sale and Purchase Agreement says exactly when you have to pay it. It’s usually about 10% of the price. Depending on your agreement, it’s due either when the agreement is signed or when it goes unconditional. It’s held in a trust account — a separate account used to hold money on someone else’s behalf. At auction, it’s paid as soon as the auction ends.

Got your LIM or builder’s report? Upload it to HomeStation and get a plain-English summary of what it says, so you know what to ask your lawyer or inspector about.

5. Settle

On the map: Insurance (M5), Drawdown (M7), Final check (X1), Transfer (L5), Settlement (D7)

Insurance. If you’re borrowing, your lender will usually require house insurance to be in place from settlement day. Arrange it early and give your lawyer proof if they ask for it. Some properties — coastal or flood-prone, for example — can be harder to insure, so don’t leave it late.

The money. If you’re using KiwiSaver, the withdrawal is paid to your lawyer. Your bank sends the loan money — this is called the drawdown. Before settlement, you’ll sign your loan documents and an authority for your lawyer to transfer the title.

The final check. Your Sale and Purchase Agreement gives you the opportunity to do a pre-settlement inspection. Visit the property shortly before settlement — ideally at least two working days before — to check the house and chattels are in the same condition as when you signed. It isn’t a chance to raise problems that already existed when you signed.

Settlement day. Your lawyer completes settlement with the seller’s lawyer. Once the payment and settlement documents are complete, you’ll be told the sale has gone through and you can collect the keys. Your lawyer also arranges the transfer of ownership and any mortgage registration with Land Information New Zealand (LINZ), the government agency that keeps the official land records.

6. Move in

On the map: Keys (D8), Movers (X2), Utilities (X3), Address (X4)

You’re home. The practical bit:

Book movers once you know your settlement date. Settlements can run late, so consider booking them for the day after.
Set up power, internet and any water account from settlement day.
Update your address with your bank, employer, Inland Revenue and the electoral roll.

How long does it take?

There’s no standard timeframe. The key dates — your condition deadlines and your settlement date — are set in your Sale and Purchase Agreement, and you agree them with the seller.

The LIM has a statutory timeframe: the council must issue it within 10 working days of your request. Other steps, like the KiwiSaver withdrawal and final loan approval, take time too — start them early, and ask your provider or bank how long they need.

Start your own map

HomeStation turns these six stages into a map for your own purchase. Each step comes with a checklist, and you can track where you’re up to.

The free plan covers one property and includes 6 AI document summaries. If you want more, the Journey Pass is NZ$79, one-off, for 12 months — no subscription.

Start free →

Official sources

This article is general information only, not legal or financial advice. Check your own situation with a lawyer, bank or adviser.