New Zealand’s 2026 election: what could make a first home more affordable?

If you and your partner have steady jobs, pay rent and keep saving, it can be frustrating to watch house prices, deposit requirements and living costs compete with your progress. The important question is not just which party promises cheaper houses, but what each party would change about the supply of homes, competition from property investors and the cost of getting into your first home.

For the 2026 New Zealand general election, it helps to separate three policy levers:

• Investors and tax: Who has an incentive to buy existing homes, and how attractive is residential property as an investment?
• Land use and infrastructure: Where can homes be built, and can councils and developers provide enough serviced land?
• Construction and first-home support: How quickly can new homes be delivered, and what help is available to buyers saving a deposit?

These levers work differently. A policy that makes it easier for you to buy an existing house may help your household without creating another home. A policy that enables thousands of additional homes may ease competition over time, but may not help much with next year's deposit.

1. What the main parties are proposing

The following is a snapshot of announced policies available as of 22 October 2026. Policies may change during the campaign, and the effect on house prices is an economic assessment, not a guaranteed outcome. Sources include the election policy comparison from interest.co.nz and Policy.nz's 2026 housing guide. The property policies: How election 2026 housing promises line upPolicies for Party vote - NZ Election 2026

National

Investor settings, private construction and access to mortgages

• Maintains the restoration of landlords' ability to deduct mortgage interest against rental income.
• Proposes widening access to 5% deposit First Home Loans by raising the income cap to $300,000.
• Supports aligning housing growth with infrastructure and economic development, including through its Auckland Deal. NZ election 2026: What every party plans for housing, rankedThe property policies: How election 2026 housing promises line up
  Possible effect on you: A lower deposit requirement could bring a purchase within reach sooner, if you qualify and can manage the mortgage. Investor-friendly tax treatment may support rental investment and construction, but may also increase competition for existing homes.

Labour

Taxing investment gains and expanding public housing

• Proposes a 28% capital gains tax on covered residential and commercial property profits, excluding the family home, from 1 July 2027. Only gains after that date would count.
• Would retain mortgage-interest deductibility for landlords.
• Promises 6,000 additional social housing places over four years. Labour’s capital gains tax explained – what is it and who will pay?The property policies: How election 2026 housing promises line up
  Possible effect on you: Taxing future investment gains could make some investors less willing to bid up existing homes, but the effect on prices is uncertain. Retaining interest deductions means landlords would still receive that tax benefit. More social housing could ease pressure on lower-cost rentals and housing insecurity, indirectly helping some renters save.

Green Party

Public housing, renter protections and limits on speculative ownership

• Promises tens of thousands of additional public homes and more support for papakāinga housing on Māori land.
• Proposes limits on rent increases linked to inflation and wage growth, long-term tenancies and rental quality protections.
• Proposes investigating caps on the number of homes one person or entity may buy, alongside a levy on increases in property value. The property policies: How election 2026 housing promises line upElection Policy Comparison
  Possible effect on you: More public housing could expand lower-cost options and reduce pressure on some parts of the market. Restrictions on investor purchases could reduce competition for existing houses, although the design and enforcement would matter. Rent controls could make your housing costs more predictable, but their effect on rental supply and maintenance would need watching.

ACT

Reducing barriers to investment and development

• Proposes abolishing the rules that prevent rental-property losses from being offset against other income.
• Its broader approach favours reducing regulatory and consenting barriers to building and investment. ACT's $300m ring-fencing cut: will it build rentals?The property policies: How election 2026 housing promises line up
  Possible effect on you: Easier development could help increase the number of homes over time. More generous tax treatment for landlords could also increase investor demand for existing properties, potentially putting upward pressure on purchase prices.

New Zealand First

Coordinating population, infrastructure and housing

• Proposes a 30-year population plan to coordinate immigration, infrastructure and housing.
• Would require fast-track housing proposals to detail the infrastructure needed and whether it is funded and deliverable.
• Supports reserving social housing for New Zealand citizens first. A Crown co-investment scheme for first-home buyers has also been explored, but should be distinguished from a confirmed policy commitment. The property policies: How election 2026 housing promises line upNZ First mulls potential policy providing Crown co-investment for first-home buyers
  Possible effect on you: Better coordination could reduce the risk of population growth outpacing housing and infrastructure. However, a long-term plan alone does not guarantee more homes or lower prices in the near term.

Te Pāti Māori

Reducing land banking and changing investor incentives

• Proposes building 2,000 homes on ancestral Māori land within four years.
• Proposes a 33% land-banking tax, a 2% annual tax on homes left vacant for more than three months, and restoring restrictions on landlords' interest deductions.
• Also proposes a 5% stamp duty on residential sales, exempting first-home buyers purchasing homes under $1 million. The property policies: How election 2026 housing promises line upThe property policies: How election 2026 housing promises line up
  Possible effect on you: Discouraging land banking and leaving homes empty could encourage more productive use of property. The first-home-buyer stamp-duty exemption would directly reduce upfront costs for eligible purchases, while taxes on other buyers could affect sale prices and market behaviour in less predictable ways.

The Opportunities Party (TOP)

Taxing land value and making construction easier

• Proposes a 1.75% annual land-value tax, with possible exemptions for farmers and retirees and a deferral of up to two years while land is developed.
• Proposes simpler national planning zones, pre-approval for proven modular construction methods, and changes to make a wider range of homes easier to build.
• Would refund GST to councils on qualifying environmentally high-performing new homes to help fund infrastructure and social housing. The property policies: How election 2026 housing promises line upElection Policy Comparison
  Possible effect on you: A land-value tax could discourage holding valuable land idle and encourage development. It could also impose substantial ongoing costs on landowners, with some of that burden potentially reflected in sale prices, rents or development decisions.

A useful caveat: a party's stated intention is not the same as an enacted law. The practical result will depend on the legislation, coalition agreements, funding and implementation.

2. How land-use rules and construction affect prices

Investor taxes are only part of the story. The other big question is whether New Zealand can build enough homes in places where people want to live.

Allow more homes on more land

Zoning that permits townhouses, apartments and subdivision can increase the number of homes available without requiring an equivalent increase in land. If new supply responds strongly to demand, that can moderate price growth over time. The trade-off is that infrastructure, transport and local planning must keep up.

Fund infrastructure and release developable land

Land zoned for housing is not necessarily ready to build on. Roads, water, wastewater, electricity and financing all affect how quickly homes can be delivered. Requiring infrastructure to be funded can prevent unfunded growth, but poorly designed requirements can also delay projects and raise costs.

Make building faster and less expensive

Faster consenting, repeatable building approvals and modular construction could lower the time and cost of adding homes. Those savings do not automatically translate into cheaper sale prices: that also depends on competition among builders, land prices and buyer demand.

The 2026 Property Council policy comparison and Policy.nz provide ways to compare the parties' stated positions on planning, construction and housing supply. Election Policy ComparisonPolicies for Party vote - NZ Election 2026

3. Which policies could help first-home buyers most directly?

This is about the mechanism, not a ranking of parties.

Policy lever	Potential benefit to you	Main limitation or risk
Lower deposit requirements	You could buy sooner with less cash saved	A larger mortgage means more debt; it does not make the home itself cheaper
Tax changes affecting investors	May reduce some investors' willingness to bid for existing homes	Prices might barely move, and investor responses are uncertain
More land and housing supply	More choice and potentially less upward pressure on prices	Takes time; new homes may not be affordable to your household
More public and community housing	Could ease rental pressure and give more households secure, lower-cost options	Benefits to private-market prices and your own rent may be indirect
Rent-increase limits	Makes it easier to plan your savings if your rent rises more slowly	May affect rental supply, maintenance or landlord decisions, depending on design
Land-banking and vacant-home taxes	May encourage unused land and homes to be brought into productive use	Enforcement, exemptions and the availability of viable development all matter

These are possible economic effects, not promises that any policy will lower prices. For example, a capital gains tax applies when a qualifying asset is sold, rather than simply making every house cheaper overnight. Labour's proposed tax would start counting gains from 1 July 2027, and its impact would depend on how investors respond. Labour’s capital gains tax explained – what is it and who will pay?The property policies: How election 2026 housing promises line up

4. What I would check before deciding how to vote

Given your goal of buying your first home while continuing to rent, I would use these questions to evaluate each party's full housing policy:

• Can we reach the deposit sooner? Check eligibility rules, the minimum deposit, income limits and whether the policy increases your borrowing capacity rather than reducing the purchase price.
• Will there be more homes in our price range? Look for commitments on actual housing delivery, development-ready land and infrastructure funding, not just announcements about zoning.
• What happens to our rent while we save? Consider tenancy security, rent-setting rules and whether policies support enough rental homes being built and maintained.
• What is the likely effect on prices over several years? Consider both investor demand and the rate of new construction. A policy that restrains one without improving the other may have a limited effect.
• Can the party implement it? Check the costings, proposed start dates, delivery targets and whether coalition partners would need to agree.

For official party positions, you can also use Policy.nz's 2026 election guide to compare housing affordability, renting and social housing separately.

One final distinction matters: a cheaper house and an easier purchase are not the same thing. A 5% deposit scheme could help you buy earlier even if prices remain high. More homes could moderate prices without helping you immediately if mortgage rates or your rent remain high. And lower prices may help your deposit target, but only if your income and borrowing capacity are sufficient.

The most useful way to assess the promises is to ask which ones would improve your position both in the next couple of years and over the longer period you expect to own a home.