The number of first home buyers getting into a home of their own appears to be stabilising after an extended period of decline. The latest mortgage lending figures from the Reserve Bank show 1883 mortgages were approved for first home buyers in April, up 6.6% compared to April last year. That suggests they are gaining an increasing share of the housing market, with sales to other types of buyers such as investors and owner-occupiers, dropping away more strongly. The first graph below shows the trend in monthly mortgage approvals to first home buyers expressed as a percentage of total housing sales. The second graph below shows the relationship between the REINZ's monthly median selling price and the estimated average price paid by first home buyers.

Source: Stuff May 29, 2023 02:50 UTC