More than 8500 first-home buyers who bought their homes during the market peak have properties that are worth less than they paid for them – and in a significant number of cases, that could be adding to the squeeze on their budgets.
CoreLogic data shows that 81 per cent of homes bought by first-home buyers between October 2021 and March 2022 have dropped in value from the time of purchase.
About 18 per cent, or 2000 first-home buyers, now have properties that are worth more than 20 per cent less than they were bought for, indicating that any equity they had in the deal would probably have been wiped out
Of those that are worth less than they were purchased for, 42 per cent are in Auckland, which made up 36 per cent of all sales over that period, and 10.8 per cent in Wellington.
Of those that are still more than 20 per cent below their purchase price, two-thirds are in Auckland and 18.8 per cent in Wellington.
CoreLogic head of research Nick Goodall said it was a higher figure than he might have expected.
