Party considers reviving a Crown-shared ownership model as part of its housing policy ahead of November's election
NZ First is reconsidering a Crown co-investment model for first-home buyers, reviving an idea the party first worked on more than a decade ago as it shapes its housing policy ahead of the 7 November general election, Interest.co.nz reported.
A revived co-ownership idea
The concept was raised as part of a remit approved by delegates at NZ First's annual convention over the weekend, with the party pitching support for first-home ownership "through targeted housing initiatives, including reduced mortgage interest rates and other affordable home ownership measures."
Speaking to Interest.co.nz, NZ First deputy leader Shane Jones said the party had first looked at a Crown co-ownership model between 2014 and 2017, when NZ First was in opposition, and is now revisiting how a similar approach might work in today's housing market.
Under the model, the Crown would become a joint owner of a home alongside a qualifying family, reducing the upfront cost of buying. Over time, the Crown would either sell down its equity stake or recover its share of the home's value when the property was eventually sold.
Jones said the party had also explored the idea while in coalition with the previous Labour government.
"But the officials struggled to make it work," he said, adding that Treasury had been reluctant to add a broad range of property ownership interests to the Crown's balance sheet.
New Zealand already has a version of this in practice today, however — Kāinga Ora's First Home Partner scheme, which has offered a similar co-investment structure since 2021, is currently fully subscribed and closed to new applicants.
Rates claim comes with a caveat
Jones argued that a co-investment structure could allow eligible buyers to access a more favourable mortgage rate than they'd otherwise get, given the Crown's low cost of borrowing. "You're gaining access to an interest rate that is cheaper than what the Aussie-owned banks are charging," he said, referring to ANZ NZ, ASB, BNZ, and Westpac NZ, which together hold 84% of bank lending in New Zealand.
Political parties don't set mortgage rates directly, however. Interest rates are ultimately shaped by the Reserve Bank's official cash rate settings, which banks pass through to their own lending rates. Asked about this, Jones acknowledged as much.
"We're not doing any work at the moment to control interest rates," he said.
The timing is notable: following the RBNZ's most recent OCR hike, all five main banks lifted their floating rates by the full 25 basis points, though their serviceability test rates — which determine how much buyers can actually borrow — remained unchanged.
Beyond the rates debate, Jones said NZ First hadn't yet settled on eligibility criteria for the scheme, and that the idea remained one of several housing proposals still being costed ahead of the election.
"That's not to say that's the final word," he said.
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