New Zealand Banking Association retail banking insights released today show that total home lending rose 17.5% in the six months to December 2025, with almost a quarter of new home loans going to first home buyers.

There were 70,811 new home loans in the period, up from 60,249 in the first half of 2025. The average value of all new home loans was $392,519, down 3% from the previous period.

24.4% of the new home loans went to first time home buyers, similar to the previous six months. The average home loan value for first home buyers was $524,850, up 3.4%.

42.9% of home loan customers were paying more than their minimum loan repayments, up from 40.3%, while 1.4% of customers were behind on their repayments, around the same as previously.

New Zealand Banking Association chief executive Roger Beaumont says: “A few years ago first home buyers were widely reported as being locked out of the housing market. It’s encouraging to see first home buyers taking advantage of the current housing market and cheaper loans compared to the post-Covid highs.

“The fact that over 40 per cent of people with a home loan are ahead on their repayments shows a high level of financial capability among New Zealand homeowners. Managing your money well, especially during a time of economic challenges, is a great skill to have.

“Nearly 18 per cent of home loans moved from variable to fixed interest rates, which is relatively significant. This may reflect a recognition that interest rates were becoming less likely to fall further as economic conditions changed.”

Beaumont also notes the continued shift to digital banking and the low use of ATMs. “Nearly 80 per cent of all bank customers are registered for online banking, including mobile banking apps, up from around 72 per cent last time. Our banks have over 10 million unique customers, and they made 2.4 billion transactions in the second half of 2025. Less than 2 per cent of those transactions were made at ATMs.”

Other banking insights for the six months to December 2025 included:

  • 68% of credit cards were paid off in full without incurring any interest cost.
  • The total value of savings accounts increased by 2.7% to $114 billion, with an average balance of $16,493.
  • The total value of term deposits increased by 3.7% to $195 billion, with an average balance of $113,385.
  • 60.7% of loans were on fixed interest rates, 17.7% were on variable rates, and the remaining 21.6% were on a mix of fixed and variable rates.
  • 6,158 customers were granted hardship status, down 8.3% from the previous period.

The full set of retail banking insights for June to December 2025 is available here: https://nzba.org.nz/banking-information/banking-stats/retail-banking-insights-december-2025/

ENDS