The typical deposit requirement in Invercargill grew just $15,000 to $64,000 as the city's median price hit $395,000. Queenstown Lakes' deposit requirement grew $16,000, the result of the city's economy bearing the brunt of the ban on international visitors and house prices struggling post-lockdown.
It compares to skyrocketing prices in Auckland forcing buyers to typically pay $41,000 more for a home loan deposit than a year ago.
Coastal Herne Bay's median prices, in particular, zoomed past $3 million - setting a new record as the nation's only suburb to cross the magic mark.
Highlighting the challenges facing first-home buyers, there were now just three Auckland suburbs in the city limits with median house prices below the Government's $650,000 affordable KiwiBuild mark, the latest OneRoof Property Report found.
That was down from 26 a year ago and 47 five years ago.
More striking was that 195 Auckland suburbs now had median property values greater than $1 million or more - representing a staggering 71 per cent of the city.
OneRooof editor Owen Vaughan said first-home buyers, in particular, were now typically handing over $200,000 or more for a deposit.
"Even parts of city that have been viewed as affordable or low value, such as South Auckland's Mangere and Manurewa, have seen property values jump more than 20 per cent to more than $800,000," he said.
"However, recent auction results show that even $1m-plus sales are not uncommon in these areas."
