Picky property searches and election jitters delay deals, advisers say
Selective buyers, affordability limits, and pre-election caution are holding back home loan enquiries from turning into approvals, mortgage advisers say, with demand already picking up in November 2026 after the vote.
The comments follow Centrix’s October Credit Indicator, which showed mortgage enquiries up 14.4% while approvals of new mortgages fell 16% in the September quarter compared with a year earlier. Equifax data also shows home loan enquiries up 12.2% this year.
Post-election rebound
Jeremy Andrews (pictured left), director and mortgage adviser at Key Mortgages, which serves clients in Northland and Auckland, said enquiries fell considerably in the weeks before the 7 November election as clients waited for the outcome, a pattern agents also reported in the NZHL Property Report, but jumped sharply this week. He expects demand to outweigh supply heading into summer.
Karen Tatterson (pictured right), director and mortgage adviser at Loan Market in Auckland, said the market has historically slowed ahead of elections, but enquiries picked up last week, with many clients taking the view that the housing market will carry on whatever the result. She is also discussing with clients how further increases to the official cash rate (OCR), which she sees as likely soon, would affect their finances.
Buyers taking their time
Andrews said demand for pre-approvals remains strong, with close to 30 of his clients currently pre-approved, helped by banks having more funding for low-deposit pre-approvals. He said buyers are being more particular about properties and pre-purchase inspections than they would be in a seller’s market.
Two recent builders’ reports flagged $10,000 to $20,000 of deferred maintenance. Neither issue was urgent, but both buyers decided to keep looking. Well-presented homes, by contrast, are drawing multiple bidders at auction and multiple offers.
Tatterson described a similar pattern. A young professional searching for a new-build first home made offers on three properties over a year but withdrew each time, concerned that faults in each would affect her future enjoyment of the home.
Lenders still keen on stable borrowers
Neither adviser saw consumer debt as a growing barrier.
Andrews said credit cards or personal loans aren’t a deal breaker in themselves, but large balances relative to income or deposit can cut borrowing power significantly. Borrowers with strong incomes and good repayment histories can often consolidate those debts into cheaper options, or sometimes into the mortgage.
Tatterson said she reviews credit card limits during applications and often recommends lowering them closer to a client’s monthly spending.
Despite unemployment rising to 5.7%, its highest level since 2015, Tatterson said she hadn’t noticed any significant change in how lenders weigh job security, which has always been part of the assessment.
Andrews said appetite for less conventional income, such as casual contracts or self-employed work in sectors under pressure, varies between banks, so advisers test scenarios with several lenders.
For stable borrowers, the picture is different. “For clients in stable jobs and high-demand industries, banks are hungry for business”, he said.
Preparing clients to buy
Tatterson said conversations that don’t become loans are nothing new. Some prospective buyers find the real cost of servicing a loan is higher than they can manage, others discover they can borrow less than expected, and some find the process too demanding.
She works with some clients for anywhere from a few months to two years to get them ready for homeownership. “I do believe that education is the key,” she said.
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