How much house you can afford depends on three limits: what your income can repay at the bank’s test rate, the Reserve Bank’s 6 times income debt-to-income limit, and your deposit. Using our engine at the 6.94% average test rate (test rates confirmed July 2026), with no debts, no card limits and living costs at our own floor, we estimate a single buyer on $100,000 could borrow about $600,000, and a couple earning $150,000 together about $900,000. With a 20% deposit those loans buy homes of about $750,000 and $1,125,000. From around $80,000 of income upwards, the DTI rule, not affordability, is usually what binds for buyers like these. Below is the full table from $60,000 to $250,000, and links to every guide on this site. Banks decide; this is general information, not financial advice.
Estimated borrowing by income
Each row runs one household through our calculator’s engine. Single means one earner living alone; couple means two adults each earning half the income. Take-home pay uses 2026/27 tax, ACC and 3.5% KiwiSaver. Living costs are our floor, $1,600 a month for one adult and $2,400 for two (our assumption, not a bank figure). There are no other debts or card limits, no dependants, and the deposit is assumed large enough not to bind. Serviceability is tested at 6.94%, the average of the five banks’ test rates, over 30 years.
| Income a year | Household | Take-home a month | Estimated borrowing | Limit that binds | 20% deposit (price) | 10% deposit (price) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $60,000 | Single | $3,886 | $345,664 | Serviceability | $86,416 ($432,080) | $38,407 ($384,071) |
| $60,000 | Couple | $4,045 | $248,697 | Serviceability | $62,174 ($310,872) | $27,633 ($276,330) |
| $80,000 | Single | $4,960 | $480,000 | DTI | $120,000 ($600,000) | $53,333 ($533,333) |
| $80,000 | Couple | $5,332 | $443,396 | Serviceability | $110,849 ($554,245) | $49,266 ($492,662) |
| $100,000 | Single | $5,989 | $600,000 | DTI | $150,000 ($750,000) | $66,667 ($666,667) |
| $100,000 | Couple | $6,620 | $600,000 | DTI | $150,000 ($750,000) | $66,667 ($666,667) |
| $120,000 | Single | $7,019 | $720,000 | DTI | $180,000 ($900,000) | $80,000 ($800,000) |
| $120,000 | Couple | $7,772 | $720,000 | DTI | $180,000 ($900,000) | $80,000 ($800,000) |
| $150,000 | Single | $8,562 | $900,000 | DTI | $225,000 ($1,125,000) | $100,000 ($1,000,000) |
| $150,000 | Couple | $9,390 | $900,000 | DTI | $225,000 ($1,125,000) | $100,000 ($1,000,000) |
| $200,000 | Single | $11,098 | $1,200,000 | DTI | $300,000 ($1,500,000) | $133,333 ($1,333,333) |
| $200,000 | Couple | $11,979 | $1,200,000 | DTI | $300,000 ($1,500,000) | $133,333 ($1,333,333) |
| $250,000 | Single | $13,494 | $1,500,000 | DTI | $375,000 ($1,875,000) | $166,667 ($1,666,667) |
| $250,000 | Couple | $14,552 | $1,500,000 | DTI | $375,000 ($1,875,000) | $166,667 ($1,666,667) |
The deposit columns show what each loan needs: a 20% deposit meets the standard owner-occupier rule, while a 10% deposit is possible only inside a bank’s speed-limit allowance and usually costs a low equity premium or a higher rate. If your deposit is smaller than the column shows, the deposit becomes the limit that binds and you can borrow less. These are estimates from our assumptions, not offers.
How to read the table
DTI binds for most rows. Most owner-occupier lending must keep total debt at or below 6 times gross income (Reserve Bank settings in force since 1 July 2024, unchanged at the August 2026 review). For buyers with no other debt and modest living costs, affordability at the test rate allows more than 6 times income from about $80,000 for a single buyer and $100,000 for a couple, so the DTI rule caps the answer at exactly 6 times income. Banks may lend above it for up to 20% of new owner-occupier lending, but they do not have to. Our debt-to-income ratio guide explains the rule.
Serviceability binds at lower incomes. At $60,000, take-home pay less living costs leaves too little to repay six times income at 6.94%. That is the test rate at work: banks check whether you could afford repayments well above today’s advertised rates. See bank test rates for each bank’s figure.
Why a couple on $60,000 gets less than a single person. The income is the same and the take-home pay slightly higher (two people each on $30,000 pay a little less tax), but two adults have higher living costs. On our floor that is $800 a month more; less the extra $159 of take-home, the couple has about $641 a month less to spare, which at the test rate costs about $97,000 of borrowing. At higher incomes both households hit the same DTI cap, so the difference disappears.
Real life is less tidy. Any debt counts against you: a car loan cuts both serviceability and the DTI limit, and every dollar of credit card limit counts as debt for DTI (credit cards and borrowing). Children raise living costs. Banks use their own benchmarks, which they do not publish, and our guide to how banks assess your application covers what they look at.
With a First Home Loan and a 5% deposit
A Kāinga Ora First Home Loan lets eligible first home buyers borrow with a 5% deposit. Income caps are $95,000 for a single buyer without dependants and $150,000 combined for two or more buyers (Kiwibank, accessed 10 November 2026). First Home Loans are exempt from the LVR rules and, per secondary sources, from DTI, so serviceability is the limit for the eligible rows.
| Income a year | Household | Estimated borrowing | 5% deposit | Price | 1.2% premium |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $60,000 | Single | $345,664 | $18,193 | $363,857 | $4,147.97 |
| $80,000 | Single | $508,142 | $26,744 | $534,886 | $6,097.70 |
| $80,000 | Couple | $443,396 | $23,337 | $466,733 | $5,320.75 |
| $100,000 | Couple | $638,095 | $33,584 | $671,679 | $7,657.14 |
| $120,000 | Couple | $812,306 | $42,753 | $855,059 | $9,747.67 |
| $150,000 | Couple | $1,057,105 | $55,637 | $1,112,742 | $12,685.26 |
The premium is 1.2% of the loan for applications lenders received after 1 July 2025 (Kāinga Ora, 22 May 2025), payable upfront or over the life of the loan; Kiwibank passes on 1.00%. Single buyers on $100,000 or more are over the $95,000 cap unless they have dependants (cap $150,000). National has promised to lift the cap to $300,000 if it forms a government; that is a promise, not law, and the 7 November 2026 election result was not final when we wrote this. See our First Home Loan guide and low deposit home loans.
Your deposit decides the price
The table shows the deposit each loan needs. Turned around, your deposit sets a ceiling: at 80% LVR, the highest price is your deposit divided by 0.2, so $100,000 buys up to $500,000 and $150,000 up to $750,000, whatever your income. Our LVR and deposit rules guide explains the rule and the speed limits.
A deposit can come from savings (see saving a deposit), a KiwiSaver first-home withdrawal, or family help (buying with family or friends). Remember that legal fees, a LIM, reports and a valuation come out of the same savings: see buying costs.
What the loan costs each month
Borrowing the most you can is not the same as affording it comfortably. At the average advertised 1-year rate of 5.06% (rates as at 10 November 2026), a $600,000 loan over 30 years costs about $3,242.97 a month, and $900,000 about $4,864.46; our sister site mortgagerepaymentcalculator.co.nz works through repayments in detail. Banks test at about 6.85% to 7.10% precisely so that you could cope if rates rose; we make no forecast of rates.
Guides for your situation
The table is a starting point. These guides cover the situations that change the answer:
- The full method behind every row: how much can I borrow?
- First home buyers: first home buyer steps, then pre-approval before you make offers.
- Buying a rental: investor lending rules (30% deposit, DTI of 7) and rental income and borrowing, which also covers boarders.
- Working for yourself: self-employed home loans.
- Building or buying new: new-build lending, which is reported to be exempt from the LVR and DTI limits.
- Choosing who to apply through: mortgage advisers vs banks.
For your own figures, with your debts, children, deposit and the bank of your choice, use the borrowing calculator; the first home buyer calculator adds the First Home Loan and KiwiSaver. Rates as at 10 November 2026; test rates confirmed July 2026.
Questions people ask
How much can I borrow on $100,000 in NZ?
On our assumptions (single, no debts, living costs at our $1,600 floor, 6.94% average test rate), about $600,000, capped by the 6x DTI rule. With a 20% deposit of $150,000 that buys about $750,000. Debts and higher living costs reduce it. Banks decide.
How much house can a couple on $150,000 afford?
On the same assumptions, about $900,000 of borrowing, capped by DTI at 6 times income. With a 20% deposit of $225,000 that is a home of about $1,125,000; with a First Home Loan and 5% deposit, serviceability allows about $1,057,105.
Why is DTI the limit for most incomes?
For households with no other debt and modest living costs, affordability at the test rate allows more than 6 times income from about $80,000 (single) or $100,000 (couple), so the Reserve Bank’s 6x limit binds first.
Do these figures include my deposit?
The borrowing column is the loan only. The deposit columns show what a 20% or 10% deposit would need to be, and the price that loan plus deposit reaches.
Sources
- interest.co.nz, Home loan test rates, accessed 10 November 2026
- MPA, Major banks hold serviceability test rates, 13 July 2026
- interest.co.nz, RBNZ holds LVR restrictions, 14 August 2026
- Kiwibank, Understanding debt-to-income ratios, accessed 10 November 2026
- Kiwibank, First Home Loan, accessed 10 November 2026
- Kāinga Ora, First Home Loan insurance premium FAQ, 22 May 2025
- interest.co.nz, National policy to extend First Home Loan income cap, 6 September 2026
- interest.co.nz, Home loan rates, as at 10 November 2026
Test rates confirmed 13 July 2026 and advertised rates as at 10 November 2026 unless stated. General information, not financial advice. Spotted something out of date? Email crucibleinvestmentsltd@gmail.com.