How many investment properties do I need to retire in New Zealand?

The median property investor needs 3 investment properties to retire they want. That’s according to the Opes Partners What Investors Want report (June 2026).

Can I retire with two investment properties?

Potentially. 2 rentals held for 20 years could help fund a Choices retirement (spending $92,600 a year). That’s on top of the NZ Super.

Should I sell my investment properties when I retire?

You don't have to. Some investors sell properties and gradually spend the proceeds, while others keep them and use the rent as income.

Property Investment

8 min read4 Sep 2026

How many investment properties do you actually need to retire?

How many investment properties do you need to retire in New Zealand? See how your retirement goals, age and investment strategy affect the number you may need.

OM 6920 How many properties do I need to retire

Author: Stevie Waring

Financial Adviser with 7 years of experience. Property investor in Wellington and Christchurch

Reviewed by: Ben King

Ben has 14 years of experience as a mortgage advisor and background as an investment adviser.

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You probably don’t need 10 investment properties to retire. For some Kiwis, two could be enough for a comfortable retirement.

When I was 26, I went to a property seminar. A guy stood up the front and said: “You need 10 properties to retire”.

I remember thinking: That’s insane. I can barely afford one.

And if that’s what it takes to retire comfortably, no wonder so many people never even start investing.

The problem with saying “you need X properties to retire” is that it ignores the most important question: What sort of retirement do you actually want? Because there’s a big difference in the wealth you need to just live on NZ Super vs spending $200,000 a year.

There are also two ways to use property in retirement. This can impact the wealth and number of properties you need.

You can sell the properties and spend the money (the Nest Egg strategy), or keep the properties and live off the rent (the Golden Goose strategy).

In this article, we’ll go through five different levels of retirement. And roughly how many investment properties you might need to achieve each one.

These are worked examples for a couple aged 45 who retire at 65. The results depend on the growth, rent, tax and debt assumptions used in our modelling. Starting earlier or later can materially change the number of properties required. That’s why I worked with a financial adviser from Opes Partners to create these numbers. If you want to create your own Wealth Plan, book a meeting with an Opes financial adviser here.
Retirement lifestyle	Annual spending (approx.)	Investment properties needed (Nest Egg):	Investment properties needed (Golden Goose):
Level 1: NZ Super	$44,000	0	0
Level 2: No Frills	$48,700	1	1
Level 3: Choices	$92,600	1	2
Level 4: Affluent	$150,000	4	5
Level 5: Contribution	$200,000+	5	9

Top takeaway:

Most Kiwis won’t need 10 investment properties to retire the way they want. But the earlier you start, the more time you give your investments to compound – the fewer properties you generally need.}

The 2 ways to live off property in retirement: Nest Egg vs Golden Goose explained

There are two main ways to use investment property to fund your retirement.

You can sell the properties and gradually spend the money, which I call the Nest Egg strategy.

Or you can keep the properties and live off the rent, which I call the Golden Goose strategy.

	Nest Egg	Golden Goose
What you do	Sell properties in retirement	Keep the properties
How you fund retirement	Spend the sale proceeds over time	Live off the rental income
Main benefit	Usually needs fewer assets	You keep the properties
Main drawback	The money can eventually run down	You usually need more assets

The Golden Goose usually needs more property. That’s because you're trying to fund retirement from the income alone, without spending the assets themselves.

And when you live off income, you get taxed. So you need to earn even more rental income to pay for that tax. That means you generally need more properties.

But with the Nest Egg, there are fewer tax considerations. That’s because in New Zealand you can often sell a property and not need to pay tax on your capital gains.

For the rest of this article, I’ll show how many properties you might need under both strategies.

Level 1: Living on NZ Super

Properties needed: 0

It is possible to retire not needing any investment properties.

That's because you're living entirely off NZ Super and don't use KiwiSaver, shares or investment property to top it up.

As at April 2026, a couple who both qualify for NZ Super receive around $44,000 a year after tax at the M rate.

That's roughly equivalent to you and your partner each earning $26,000 a year before tax.

If you're earning substantially more than that today, this could be a hefty pay cut.

Could you survive? Well, if you've paid off your own home, run one modest car and shop the specials … maybe you could.

But there's not a lot of room for unexpected costs. A broken washing machine or an expensive trip to the dentist could make for a stressful month.

So, how many properties do you need for this lifestyle? Zero.

But you are making a big assumption: that NZ Super will continue in its current form between now and when you retire.

Level 2: The “No Frills” retirement

Properties needed: 1

Massey University's 2025 Retirement Expenditure Guidelines call the next step up a “No Frills” retirement.

For our example couple, that means spending around $48,700 a year.

So, you're still relying heavily on NZ Super. You just have a bit more breathing room.

You're covering the basics, but you're still watching what you spend.

Massey estimates that a two-person household living in the city would need about $118,000 at retirement. That’s to cover the gap between NZ Super and this lifestyle.

Under the assumptions in our model, one rental held for 20 years could potentially build enough wealth to cover that gap.

And for all the examples in this article I assumed that:

NZ Super is available,
That the properties purchased were currently worth $550,000 - $1 million, and
That those properties will appreciate at 5 – 6% per year (depending on the location).

Level 3: The “Choices” retirement

Properties needed: 1 (Nest Egg), 2 (Golden Goose)

This is the sort of lifestyle people often mean when they talk about a comfortable retirement.

For our example couple, we're talking about spending around $92,600 a year.

At this level, you have choices. You can take the odd holiday around New Zealand. You can put money aside for something big, like a campervan. You're not panicking every time an unexpected bill arrives.

So, how many properties do you need? Under the Nest Egg strategy, you might need one well-performing rental. Under the Golden Goose strategy, it could be closer to two.

But this is where things start getting more complicated.

Level 4: An affluent retirement

Properties needed: 4 (Nest Egg), 5 (Golden Goose)

Massey's guidelines stop at the Choices lifestyle. So, for this article I've added two higher spending levels: Affluent and Contribution.

Because maybe “comfortable” isn't the dream. Maybe you want to spend a lot more in your later years.

That's where we get to an affluent retirement. For our example couple, let's put that at around $150,000 a year.

At that level, you can drive the car you want and upgrade it every few years. You can travel regularly. And if a health concern comes up, you've got the option to pay for private treatment rather than relying entirely on the public system.

This is also where the property numbers start getting serious.

For our 45-year-old couple, the Nest Egg strategy could take around four rentals, built up over the first 10 years. The Golden Goose could take around five.

Level 5: The “Contribution” retirement

Properties needed: 5 (Nest Egg), 9 (Golden Goose)

Then there's the top of the ladder when you're spending $200,000 or more a year.

I call this the Contribution lifestyle.

Because once you reach this level, retirement isn't just about you.

Yes, you can travel and enjoy a high standard of living.

But you've also got enough to help the kids or grandkids. You can give money to causes that matter to you. You've got the financial freedom to support the people around you.

To achieve this using the Nest Egg strategy, our example couple could need around five rentals.

The Golden Goose? Around nine.

Yes, nine.

In our model, generating $200,000 of after-tax spending requires roughly $6 million of debt-free rental property. That's producing around $300,000 of gross income.

And remember, we're assuming you don't buy all nine properties tomorrow.

You might build up to them over a decade.

That requires a high income, an appetite for debt and a significant tolerance for risk.

But here's what struck me when I ran these numbers:

Even at the highest retirement level, using the more expensive strategy, we still haven't reached 10 properties.

Does it matter when I start investing in property?

Say you buy a $600,000 investment property at age 45.

If it increases in value by 5% a year, by the time you're 65 it could be worth around $1,050,000 in today's dollars.

Now imagine you buy exactly the same property at age 55.

You've only got 10 years for your investment to compound, so it could be worth closer to $827,000 in today's dollars by age 65.

So, that’s the same property with the same starting value. But the biggest difference is time.

And in this example, those extra 10 years were worth more than $200,000.

That's why a 45-year-old might need four properties to reach an affluent retirement, while someone starting at 55 could need six or more.

It works in reverse too.

Start at 35, with 30 years on your side, and you could need fewer.

And remember, we're only talking about property here.

Your property portfolio may not be your only retirement asset. You may also have KiwiSaver, shares, business assets or savings.

If that's you, you may need fewer properties than these examples suggest.

Top tools you can use

Opes+
Retirement calculator – Work out how much money you may need to fund the retirement lifestyle you want.

So, how many properties do you actually need to retire?

Some Kiwis don’t need any investment properties to retire on their terms.

For someone who wants a modest top-up to NZ Super, it might be one.

For a couple who wants a comfortable retirement with genuine choices, it could be closer to two.

And if you're aiming for a $150,000–$200,000+ retirement lifestyle, that's when you may start needing four, five or more.

So, there isn't one magic number.

Your number depends on:

How much you want to spend in retirement
Whether you plan to sell your properties or live off the rent
How old you are when you start
How quickly you build your portfolio
How your investments perform
What other assets you have, including KiwiSaver and shares

That's why I don't think the right question is: “How many properties do I need?”

It's: “How much income do I want in retirement, and what assets do I need to create it?”

Once you've got that number, you can work backwards.

Stevie Waring

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.

Ok, now for the legal bit:

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.

You might like to use us or another financial adviser

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