April update | Colab’s growth, smarter home buying options & other news

As some of you may have already seen, Ben Goldsmith has recently joined me here at Colab, and I’m genuinely stoked to have him on board.

I’ve known Ben since my BNZ days and he’s one of the sharpest mortgage advisers around. He brings a huge amount of lending knowledge, along with real hands-on experience from his own builds and development projects. That practical side matters in this game. It means he understands the build process from the inside, not just from a lending desk.

On top of that, he’s just a really great guy, with a sharp sense of humour, a strong work ethic, and someone clients and business partners will genuinely enjoy dealing with. It’s a great fit for Colab, especially given how much of our work sits in the new build space.

Why new builds are worth a serious look right now

Ben and I were talking this week about how not enough gets said about the finance advantages of buying new, especially for first home buyers.

It’s widely known that new builds are exempt from the Reserve Bank’s LVR and DTI restrictions. But what often gets missed is what that actually means in real life. If you’re a first home buyer with a smaller deposit, buying an existing home will often mean higher interest rates, less flexibility, and in some cases a low equity margin on top. With a new build, banks usually have more room to move, and we’re seeing that flow through in the form of better pricing, sharper cashback, and more flexibility around how the loan is assessed.

For a lot of buyers, that can make a real difference to weekly repayments and overall affordability. It’s one of the reasons new builds are stacking up so well at the moment. More on that here.

The other big part of the story is the home itself.

Not all new builds are equal however, and I think that’s worth saying. A well-designed new build, with good natural light, a sensible layout, decent storage, off-street parking, and a bit of thought around how people actually live, is a very different proposition from something that just happens to be brand new. Good design still matters, and in my view it always wins out over time.

That said, with ongoing economic uncertainty and energy prices still under pressure globally, a warm, efficient, low maintenance home starts to look pretty attractive. A well-designed new build that meets current code is typically better insulated, warmer, drier, and cheaper to run than an older home. There’s also the peace of mind that comes with a Master Build Guarantee or similar cover, and the fact you’re less likely to be spending weekends chasing repairs, patching old issues, or pouring money into maintenance.

For a lot of buyers, that means more of their income can go towards the mortgage, or just enjoying life, rather than constantly feeding the house.

And for those looking to make their homes even more efficient, or cut transport costs as well, it’s also worth knowing that most major banks currently offer special home loan top-up rates for things like EVs, EV chargers, rooftop solar, and batteries. In some cases these rates are sitting around 0% to 1%, which is a pretty compelling option!

A quick local plug before I wrap up

If you’re looking for something to do over the next couple of weekends, Stonewood Homes Waikato are running an open day at Parkview Estate in Te Awamutu on Sunday 19 April from 10am to 2pm at 1599 Rewi Street.

There’ll be coffee, ice cream, a sausage sizzle, and a chance to have a look through a really nice new subdivision. I’ll be there, so if you want to talk building, finance, or just come say hi, it would be great to see you! More details here.

To wrap up

If you’d like to read more about why new builds can make so much sense, or if you want to get your head around the process, feel free to download our guides here.

And if EV finance is more your thing, have a read of our recent article here.

As always, if you’re looking to build, refinance, buy your first home, purchase an investment property, or just want to talk through your options, just sing out. We’re a full-service mortgage advice firm and would love to help.