Property Investment
Property investment NZ – The epic guide to property investment
Explore the latest in NZ property investment with our comprehensive 2026 guide. Gain insights into strategies and detailed steps for success.
Property Investment
6 min read
Author: Stevie Waring
Financial Adviser with 7 years of experience. Property investor in Wellington and Christchurch
Reviewed by: Dennis Schipper
Financial adviser for 3+ years. Helped nearly 500 Kiwis buy property.
To invest in property in New Zealand, you usually need a deposit of around 20% to 30%, enough income to get a loan, and a plan for what you want to buy.
If you've been thinking about investing in property but don't know where to start, you're not alone.
Most first-time investors assume they need hundreds of thousands of dollars sitting in the bank before they can do anything.
Others spend months researching because they don't know what property to buy first.
The good news is that getting started is often much simpler than people think.
In this article, you'll learn:
This guide is deliberately simple. If you want a deeper explanation of each step, we've also created our complete Property Investment Guide.
Start with your numbers, not the property. Work out what you can afford, choose a strategy, then find a property that fits your goals.
Here's the biggest misconception about property investing.
Most investors don't save their entire deposit in cash. They use equity in their home instead.
If you already own your home, you may already have the deposit and not know it.
Equity is simply the difference between what your home is worth and what you still owe the bank. Investors often use some of this equity as the deposit for their first investment.
You can’t borrow against all of your equity. Banks generally let you borrow up to 80% of your home’s value. So if you mortgage is less than 80% of the home’s value, you may have some useable equity.
Though to invest in property, you’ll also need enough income to afford the new loan.
The type of property you buy impacts how much deposit you'll need.
New Builds generally require a smaller deposit than existing investment properties:
| Property Type | Typical deposit | Minimum deposit usually needed for a $700,000 property |
| New Builds | 20% | $140,000 |
| Existing property | 30% | $210,000 |
But it’s not just the deposit that matters.
Banks will check to see if you could still afford your mortgage if interest rates went up. So, your income matters just as much as your deposit.
Put simply, you must earn enough between your job and the rent to afford your mortgage repayments. That includes still being able to afford it under some of the banks’ ‘test conditions’.
Not sure how much you could borrow? Our Borrowing Calculator takes about two minutes.
One of the biggest mistakes beginners make is opening Trade Me before they’ve decided what they’re trying to achieve.
Many beginner-investors choose one of two strategies:
Buy-and-hold requires relatively little day-to-day work, particularly if you use a property manager. That makes it a practical strategy for investors who already have a job, family and other commitments.
Flipping can produce faster returns. But it requires more money, more experience and is more hands-on. Renovation costs can also blow out, so there is less room for beginner mistakes.
That’s why many beginners with a day job start with the buy-and-hold strategy. That is also the approach we help investors use at Opes Partners.
| Buy-and-hold | Flipping | |
| What you do | Buy a property, rent it out and keep it long term | Buy a property, renovate it and sell it |
| How you make money | Rental income and the property increasing in value | Selling the improved property for more than it cost |
| Time required | Low to moderate | High |
| Upfront costs | Usually lower | Usually higher because you also need renovation money |
| Generally suits | Busy people building long-term wealth | Experienced, hands-on renovators |
Once you've chosen your strategy, it's time to decide what type of property to buy.
For many first-time buy-and-hold investors, the biggest decision is whether to buy a New Build or an existing property.
There are pros and cons to both options:
| New Build | Existing property | |
| Typical deposit | 20% | 30% |
| Maintenance | Usually lower | Usually higher |
| Debt-to-income (DTI) rules | Generally exempt | Usually applies |
| Generally suits | Investors with busy lives who want to a more hands-off approach | Investors who have the time and skills to renovate properties |
Want to know which is right for you? Read our New Build vs Existing Property guide
Property investment is a national game. One of the biggest mistakes beginners make is only looking at properties that are close to home.
But in reality, many investors we see at Opes Partners choose to invest in cities they don’t live in. That’s because they already have exposure to their local city’s property market.
And they want to spread their risk around the country.
Cities with more people and jobs tend to attract more tenants and home buyers.
But affordability and the amount of rent you get matters too. The property still needs to be affordable enough for you to hold over the long term while you wait for long term capital growth.
So, when comparing cities, look for places with:
Many investors start by looking at the main cities. Places like Auckland, Christchurch, Hamilton and Wellington. Then they narrow their search to individual suburbs.
Not sure where to invest? Use Area Analyser to investigate the data for every area in the country
Buying a property involves using a lot of different professionals. You don't have to figure everything out yourself.
Most successful investors build a team that includes:
Each specialist helps you avoid costly mistakes and makes the investment process much easier.
A financial adviser can then help bring everything together. They build the strategy first, then recommend properties that fit your goals.
That is where Opes Partners comes in. They are financial advisers who specialise in property investment. And at the Opes Group we also have accountants, property managers, insurance advisers and mortgage advisers.
That way, you can access almost all your professionals in one place.
Our team can help you build an investment plan and work out what type of property suits your goals. We can also help arrange your mortgage, find and assess a property, and organise the accounting and insurance.
Once you own the property, our team can help manage it too.
That means you don't have to find and coordinate every expert yourself. You have one team helping you through the entire property investment process.
Start by estimating two numbers:
If those numbers show you could be ready to invest, the next step is to get advice. A property investment adviser can help you choose a strategy, location and property that fit your goals.
But you may find that you can’t invest yet either. That’s useful information too.
You might need to pay down debt, increase your income, build a larger deposit or wait for your financial position to improve. The important thing is to understand what is holding you back and what needs to change.
A free strategy session at Opes Partners can help you work out those numbers and understand what they mean for your next step.
Whether you’re ready now or still a year or two away, you’ll leave with a clearer idea of what to do next.
Financial Adviser with 7 years of experience. Property investor in Wellington and Christchurch
Stevie Waring is a Financial Adviser with over 7 years of experience in property investment and a successful investor herself. Stevie has successfully guided over 200 Kiwis in their property investments, helping them move closer to achieving their financial goals.
This article is for your general information. It’s not financial advice. See here for details about our Financial Advice Provider Disclosure. So Opes isn’t telling you what to do with your own money.
We’ve made every effort to make sure the information is accurate. But we occasionally get the odd fact wrong. Make sure you do your own research or talk to a financial adviser before making any investment decisions.
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