How I bought my first home at 23

Opinion: Many young people no longer even consider owning a home but TVNZ reporter Lucy Bendell, who recently picked up the keys to her Auckland home, explains how it can be done.

A soft smile slowly appeared on my face as I signed the 12th and final document. It was official – I owned a house.

I picked up my keys, they were pink - perhaps my real estate agent's idea of what a young woman would like. I wasn't complaining.

Unlocking the door, a wave of warmth came over me, friends poured through shortly after, helping me move in. We didn’t get through much unpacking, when a bottle of champagne (or three) was popped.

The sharp crack of the cork echoing through the empty rooms felt like more than just a celebration. It was the sound of years of learning and saving paying off.

It’s a feeling we hear is rarely achievable by yourself in your mid-20s.

When I was asked to share my story, I was hesitant because finances have traditionally been something of a taboo topic. And New Zealanders sometimes suffer from the tall-poppy need to cut others down in their personal success.

But I hope by breaking down the numbers of how I achieved this in one of our most expensive housing markets at the age of 23, my experience can inspire others in a similar position to know it can be possible.

As someone who monitors and writes news daily, I watched my chances of purchasing a home dwindle as I read one depressing article after the next.

The country's largest bank, ANZ, said the average age of its first-home buyers was now 35. Westpac said the same. BNZ said about 45% of its first-home buyers were in their early to mid-30s. Cotality chief property economist Kelvin Davidson said Kiwis earning a median income typically required about 10 years to save for a house deposit, pushing home ownership up into the mid-30s for many.

I also read that Aucklanders would need to earn more than $213,000 a year to comfortably afford to buy a median-priced home, at $1.08 million. Wellington buyers would need to be bringing in $174,755, while in Tauranga you would require $180,435 and Dunedin buyers $119,775.

Many academic studies I came across considered it is comfortable to buy a home when spending no more than 30% of income on mortgage costs.

With all this information pouring through your head, of course you think ‘I may never reach that salary in my whole life’. So you give up on the dream.

But as I closely watched the housing market, it wasn't all negatives.

In 2021, at the peak of the market, headlines were bleak for first-home buyers looking at taking on huge amounts of debt to get on the ladder. By 2025, things were looking up as the market swung in their favour.

Also, you don’t necessarily need to buy a house worth the median price. And it is possible to stretch a little financially to get yourself on the property ladder if this is a priority for you.

I started putting money into my KiwiSaver at 15-years-old, always contributing the highest amount available of 8% (that was the maximum in 2017).

However, I do understand that can be a privileged place to be, and not everyone can afford that. The economic times are tough, supermarket prices have risen, as have rental prices and petrol. So, investing 10% (now the maximum Kiwisaver contribution) can be a pinch.

A pinch, however worth prioritising if you can.

Because I had in mind the knowledge that you can usually only use your KiwiSaver for two things - your first home and retirement.

Having invested 8% of my salary for almost a decade, coupled with the compulsory employer contribution of 3%, allowed me to reach the balance of an average 50-year-old woman in May of this year.

I was therefore able to put down a deposit of 12%, combining my savings and Kiwisaver.

A 20% deposit can avoid temporary low equity interest margins, but waiting years to save the difference may not always be the best strategy if prices move in the meantime.

Banks will also assess income affordability using interest rates well above current levels, along with existing debts and credit history. Securing approval is only the first step.

I withdrew a lot of my KiwiSaver balance for my first home. I'm OK with that as I still have more than 40 years to save for my retirement, with the hope that owning a home will also put me in a better position for retirement.

It’s not taking from my future, it’s investing in a bigger one.

In 2023, Act MP Brooke van Velden said during a pre-election debate that you can own your house in New Zealand if you “work really really hard” and save by "only eating stir-fry vegetables and fish and tuna".

But you shouldn’t need to starve yourself to access housing. The reality is that building wealth isn't about deprivation, it's about creating opportunities to invest in your future.

In my experience the process of saving for a home began before I even had two dollars to rub together.

I owe a lot of my understanding of finances to my parents, as money matters was always an open conversation in my family.

My working life began with my first job as a dance teacher at the age of 12. I moved out of home at 17, got my degree and full time job at 19 and owned my first business by 20.

I was 17 when I first put my own money into shares. I was taught that this was one of the ways I could build personal wealth, my older brother even gifting me Sharesies contributions for my birthday.

My parents were the masters of side hustling before it was a thing we needed to do to get ahead. Both hairdressers, they also drew on their many talents. My mum was also an accountant, real estate agent and dance studio owner. My dad was a university lecturer for 30 years and the author of the New Zealand hairdressing curriculum and theory. He retired at 49.

I began working on TVNZ's Breakfast programme in 2022. Naturally, I aspired to my parents' work ethic and wanted to have a side hustle (it's almost a need now) and started an online retail business. I also teach fitness part time.

In terms of financial education, I was given every opportunity to learn and ask questions along the way that helped to prepare me for my biggest financial venture yet.

My little brother, Hunter, bought a house at 21 in our local town Picton. He didn't go to university, and left school in year 12 to become a skipper.

However, I would argue that despite being given the tools and knowledge, I still had to follow through and put in the effort to succeed. Financial education doesn't replace hard work, it complements it.

The knowledge gave me the confidence to make informed decisions, but it was consistent saving, planning, discipline and long-term investing that ultimately put me in a position to buy my first home.

Education can open the door, but it's the choices we make and the effort we put in that determine whether we walk through it.

I've walked through that door now - into my own home - and it was all worth it.

The information in this article is general in nature and should not be read as personal financial advice.