Now, before we kick into political chat, a quick disclaimer! This is a neutral summary for general interest. It's not financial or voting advice, and policies may change before election day. None of this is locked in until it survives the campaign, and quite possibly, coalition negotiations afterwards.
With the general election on 7 November, housing is shaping up as one of the biggest battlegrounds. If you're a first-home buyer, a landlord, or just curious, here's a plain English rundown of what the main parties are saying. No spin, just the policies.
National (currently in government)
National's big first-home buyer move is expanding the Kāinga Ora First Home Loan scheme. Right now it lets buyers get in with a 5% deposit instead of the usual 20%, but only if you earn under $95,000 (single) or $150,000 (couple or single with dependants). National wants to lift that to a flat $300,000 for anyone, whether you're buying alone or with someone else.
On investment property, National has already restored full mortgage interest deductibility for landlords, and it isn't proposing any new property taxes. On supply, it's pushing RMA reform, faster consenting, more medium-density housing in cities, and it recently made it easier to build granny flats without needing consent.
The foreign buyer ban stays for homes under about $2 million, but there's now an exception for wealthy migrants on the Active Investor Plus visa buying homes worth $5 million or more.
Labour
Labour's headline housing policy is a capital gains tax. It would apply a flat 28% tax on the profit made from selling residential investment properties and commercial property, starting from 1 July 2027. The family home, farms, KiwiSaver, and shares would all be exempt. The idea is to use the money raised to fund free GP visits through a new "Medicard" scheme.
This would effectively replace the current bright-line test. Labour hasn't yet said whether it would also bring back limits on interest deductibility for landlords, so that one's still an open question.
Green Party
The Greens are proposing a different route to the same broad goal. Instead of a standalone capital gains tax, they'd stretch the bright-line test out from 2 years to 10 years, and remove mortgage interest deductibility for landlords again.
They've also floated a wider tax package that includes a wealth tax (2.5% a year on net assets over $10 million for an individual, or $20 million for a couple, with the family home exempt) and a tax on large inheritances and gifts. On the renting side, they want a cap on rent increases, tighter rules around no-cause tenancy terminations, minimum quality standards for rentals, and a large public housing building programme.
ACT
ACT's focus is almost entirely on supply and deregulation rather than tax changes. It wants to overhaul the RMA around a simple principle: you should be able to build on your own land as long as you're not harming your neighbours. It's also proposed letting builders opt out of council building consents, and sharing GST revenue from new builds with councils to help fund the infrastructure that comes with growth.
ACT is opposed to capital gains and wealth taxes on property.
NZ First
NZ First has floated a shared equity (or "co-investment") scheme for first-home buyers, where the government would effectively own a stake in the home alongside the buyer. That would shrink the mortgage needed, which could help buyers meet a bank's serviceability tests. Details haven't been fully worked out yet.
NZ First has also historically taken a cautious line on foreign ownership of housing.
Te Pāti Māori
Te Pāti Māori's housing focus sits within its broader push for Māori self-determination, including Māori-led housing delivery under frameworks like MAIHI. The party has also criticised some current government measures, such as move-on powers targeting homeless people, as failing to address the underlying housing problem.
The big picture
A few things stand out across the board. Every party wants to make it easier for first-home buyers to get into the market, whether that's through smaller deposits, shared equity, or more supply. But there's a real split on investment property tax: National and ACT want to leave things as they are (or go further on deductibility), while Labour and the Greens both want some form of tax on investment property gains, just via different mechanisms.
