Stuff: Could Your First Home Be Closer With This New App?
As seen in Stuff – With house prices rising and lending rules tightening, the fastest path to homeownership is often the best. Aera, a new app-based service, helps first-home buyers secure a home in half the time with half the deposit. By focusing on new builds in New Zealand, Aera enables buyers to purchase with just a 10% deposit—far less than the commonly believed 20%.
Aera also offers unique tools like Aera Credits™ which members can get up to $10K towards their deposit, expert coaching, and high-interest savings options to help buyers get mortgage-ready faster. By accelerating savings and making deposits more achievable, Aera is changing the game for first-time buyers looking to get on the property ladder before prices rise further.
With house prices doubling every 10 years and strict lending rules in place, history has shown that the quickest route to home ownership is almost always the best option. But many first-home buyers find it harder to save for a deposit while juggling daily living costs, making that first step onto the property ladder more difficult than ever.
Now Aera- a new app-based service - offers first-time buyers the chance to secure their home in half the time, with half the deposit.
“So many Kiwis are so much closer to owning their first home than they realise,” says Aera founder Derek Handley.
“But the longer they wait, the harder it gets, and that’s why Aera’s clear mission is to get on that property ladder as fast as possible.”
The current state of New Zealand’s housing market underscores this urgency. House prices in New Zealand are predicted to rise by 8% in 2025, driven by lower interest rates and ongoing housing shortages. For first-time buyers, this means the window of opportunity is closing faster than ever, says Handley.
“First-time buyers are up against the clock, and every day you delay is costing you money and time you don’t have,” he says.
One of the biggest barriers to homeownership for many Kiwis is the deposit requirement.
While many believe a 20% deposit is necessary, Aera is challenging this assumption.
By focusing on new builds in Auckland and Christchurch, Aera helps buyers access homes with only a 10% deposit - a crucial shift that can cut homeownership time in half.
“In New Zealand, 68% of first-home buyers don’t realise that buying a brand-new home requires only a 10% deposit,” says Handley*. “If they bought new, many would be a year or less away from owning a home.”
Through its partnerships with developers, Aera can offer affordable entry points into the market, allowing buyers to get started with less upfront financial pressure. This approach helps ensure that even those struggling to save the full 20% deposit can still secure their first home without the lengthy wait.
It’s a game-changer for those finding it difficult to save, says Handley.
“Dreaming about the quaint old villa with a big backyard and the huge deck might be the single best way to never get a home,” says Handley. “Your first home isn’t your forever home - it’s the one you get into as fast as you can to start building equity and moving up.”
Beyond lowering deposit barriers, Aera provides members with an all-in-one solution to navigate the home-buying process. The platform offers a range of benefits tailored to first-time buyers, including:
Aera’s standout feature is its ability to outperform traditional savings methods. Unlike banks, which tend to offer lower interest rates on savings, Aera enables it’s members to lend their savings to established Kiwi companies, delivering higher returns. This innovation allows savers to accumulate deposits faster while keeping their money secure.
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