3. Searching
Discover everything you need to know about house hunting and get tools for finding the home that’s right for you.
In this step we’ll give you tools to find the right home for you. When you’ve finished this step, you’ll know what to check off when you visit an open home. You may even be ready to think about making an offer.
This is where you’ll begin to see your hard work paying off. It’s time to make an exciting move along your path – searching for your new home.
Your budget will be your biggest guide, and a great starting point for finding the right place. Setting out what you need in a home, along with getting to know the different housing and ownership types will help you narrow your search within your budget.
If you’ve worked through this guide from the beginning, you have already given this some thought when you set up a savings plan. Now it’s time to bring your needs into focus again, by working through these questions:
- What are your 'must have’ housing needs – the things your home can’t be without?
- What are some things you’ve been telling yourself you need but may actually be things that are ‘nice to have’?
- How many bedrooms and bathrooms will you need?
- How important are things like a garden, garage or other property features?
- How close do you need to be to things like work, schools, public transport, shops, parks, healthcare or other amenities?
As you begin to pinpoint your needs – and get a feel for the things you can live without – you can start to think about how different types of homes would meet them.
Before you know it, the picture of your new home becomes clearer. It can be useful to make a note of these key features, especially if you plan to enlist someone like a real estate agent to help with your search.
Now that you've got your pre-approval sorted, here's where you can go to find the right home for you:
For Kāinga Ora’s large-scale development projects:
Kāinga Ora is currently leading the delivery of six large-scale development projects in Auckland and one in Te Kauwhata, Waikato. You can find more information on the homes available for sale in all these developments by visiting the websites below or by visiting our Information Centres.
Hobsonville Point(external link)
Corner of Launch Road and Bomb Point Drive, gravel carpark, Wednesday to Sunday, 10am - 4pm.
Northcote Development(external link)
Northcote Town Centre carpark, Thursday to Saturday, 10.00am - 4.00pm
Roskill Development(external link)
Roskill South Info Cube – 142 May Road, Wednesday to Saturday, 10am - 4pm
Ōwairaka Info Cube – 80 Hendon Ave, Thursday and Saturday, 10am - 4pm
Oranga Development(external link)
34 Oranga Ave, Wednesday to Saturday, 10am - 4pm
Mangere Development(external link)
12 Waddon Place, Wednesday to Saturday, 10am - 4pm
Lakeside Development(external link)
Lakeside Village Centre, corner of Scott Road and Rimu Street, Thursday to Sunday, 10am - 4pm
For property listings of all types:
For property value estimates and facts about any home, its location and sales history:
Tip - Buying off the plans?
This is when you agree to buy a home before construction has finished. You’ll see what the final home will look like from architectural plans or blueprints and will review a full list of specifications and inclusions before signing a sale and purchase agreement.
When you’re searching for a home, you’ll notice the land or section may be described differently from one property to the next – sometimes even when they’re the same kind of house. These are the different types of land ownership in New Zealand, and some are more common than others. It’s always a good idea to speak with your solicitor about this, as they’ll be able to give you advice about the differences and what they could mean for you.
New Zealand has five main types of land ownership:
Fee simple
Also known as ‘freehold’ and the most common type of ownership in New Zealand. You own and have unrestricted use of the land, and anything built on it, unless there are registered or unregistered interests that restrict use of the property.
Leasehold
Where someone else owns the land and leases the right to use it to live or build on for a specific amount of time.
Stratum estate
Also known as a ‘unit title’ and a common type of ownership for apartments or buildings with multiple owners. You own your specific unit and accessories, while common areas are owned collectively (such as foyers, lifts, gardens and laundry rooms).
Cross-lease
A combination of fee simple and leasehold. Under a cross-lease agreement, you own:
- a share of the freehold title along with any other cross-leaseholders
- a leaseholder interest in the specific area and home you live in.
- A cross-lease agreement outlines the rights and obligations of each individual owner.
Māori land
Māori land subject to Te Ture Whenua Maori Act 1993 where the property (home) purchaser has a right to occupy the land.
Open homes are the best way to find out if a property is right for you. They’re a chance to check the layout and size of the rooms, to get a sense of the neighbourhood and to see what the area has to offer.
Before heading to an open home, download our open home checklist [PDF, 41 KB], which includes the key things you need to look out for.
You’re getting good at spotting every detail at the open homes you visit, but now it’s time to turn to the professionals:
Building inspector
A building inspector can thoroughly inspect a home you are seriously interested in, giving you the all-clear on everything you worked through in your open home checklist [PDF, 41 KB] and more. They should, for example, pinpoint notable defects and potential maintenance issues, including urgent ones, and check for structural issues or any indications of the property being prone to leaks. A building inspector’s report may also be a condition of your home loan.
You can find a list of building inspectors in your area at boinz.org.nz(external link).
Here are some useful website links to assist you with the “Searching” step.
- Checklist – Searching [PDF, 229 KB]
- Checklist – Visiting an open home [PDF, 41 KB]
- Finding the right home [PDF, 354 KB]
- Types of homes(external link)
- Find a building inspector(external link)
House hunting tools:
- Hobsonville Point(external link)
- Northcote Development(external link)
- Roskill Development(external link)
- Oranga Development(external link)
- Mangere Development(external link)
- Lakeside Development(external link)
- OneRoof
- realestate.co.nz
- Trade Me
- KiwiBuild(external link)
- homes.co.nz
- QV
- Trade Me Property Insights
- Your local council(external link)
Page updated: 12 February 2024