Mortgage calculator NZ
Last verified · Methodology
This mortgage calculator for NZ home buyers works out your weekly, fortnightly or monthly repayments, your loan-to-value ratio (LVR), and how much you will still owe when your fixed term ends. Put in the price, your deposit and a rate, and it flags whether the loan falls under the Reserve Bank's low-deposit limits.
Your home loan
Your repayments
Repayment per fortnight
$1,781.12
780 repayments over 30 years
Loan-to-value ratio (LVR)
80%
Assumes one interest rate for the whole term. In practice you refix every few years at whatever rates are on offer then. Excludes bank fees, low-equity margins, legal fees and insurance.
| Loan | Per week | Per fortnight | Per month |
|---|---|---|---|
| $400,000 | $523.75 | $1,047.72 | $2,271.16 |
| $500,000 | $654.69 | $1,309.65 | $2,838.95 |
| $600,000 | $785.63 | $1,571.58 | $3,406.73 |
| $700,000 | $916.56 | $1,833.51 | $3,974.52 |
| $800,000 | $1,047.50 | $2,095.44 | $4,542.31 |
| $1,000,000 | $1,309.38 | $2,619.30 | $5,677.89 |
How your repayments are worked out
New Zealand home loans are usually table loans: every repayment is the same, but early on most of it is interest and later most of it is principal. The calculator splits the annual rate evenly across your repayments (52 a year for weekly, 26 for fortnightly, 12 for monthly) and works out the level repayment that clears the loan by the end of the term.
Rates here are examples you can change. Bank rates move often, and what you are offered depends on your deposit, income and the term you fix for. The calculator uses one rate for the whole loan; in practice you will refix several times, so treat the long-run totals as a guide. Shortening the term from 30 to 25 years on the same $680,000 loan lifts the fortnightly repayment to $1,926.19 but cuts total interest from $709,276 to $572,020.
Deposit and LVR rules
Your loan-to-value ratio is the loan divided by the property's value. Since 1 December 2025 the Reserve Bank has let banks put no more than 25% of new owner-occupier lending above 80% LVR, and no more than 10% of new investor lending above 70% LVR. The Reserve Bank kept those settings in its August 2026 review. Construction of a new home, buying a new build from the developer, Kāinga Ora First Home Loans and like-for-like refinancing are exempt.
In practice that means a 20% deposit for a home you will live in and 30% for a rental. With a deposit of $85,000 on an $850,000 home, the LVR is 90% and the fortnightly repayment $2,003.76 before any low-equity margin the bank adds. An investor with the same 20% deposit is at 80% LVR, which is above the 70% investor threshold.
The deposit is not the only limit. Since 2024 the Reserve Bank has also capped how much of each bank's new lending can go to borrowers whose total debt is a high multiple of their income, with a higher threshold for investors than for owner-occupiers. A large deposit will not get a loan approved if the loan is too big for your income.
| Deposit on $850,000 | LVR | High-LVR (home) | High-LVR (investor) | Per fortnight |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $85,000 | 90% | Yes | Yes | $2,003.76 |
| $127,500 | 85% | Yes | Yes | $1,892.44 |
| $170,000 | 80% | No | Yes | $1,781.12 |
| $255,000 | 70% | No | No | $1,558.48 |
Many first-home buyers use KiwiSaver savings towards the deposit. The KiwiSaver calculator shows how fast your balance grows at the new 3.5% rates.
Fixed terms, refixing and break fees
Most New Zealand borrowers fix for 1 to 3 years at a time rather than for the life of the loan. Pick a fixed term in the calculator to see what you will still owe when it ends: on $680,000 at 5.5% over 30 years, $670,851 remains after 1 year and $650,974 after 3. That remaining balance is what gets repriced.
Paying off a fixed loan early, or switching before the term is up, can trigger a break fee if wholesale rates have dropped. Floating rates and revolving credit have no break fee but usually cost more. A common approach is to split the loan, fixing most of it and keeping a smaller part floating for lump-sum repayments. To see how your pay covers the repayments, run your salary through the PAYE calculator.
Paying a little extra
Small extra repayments make a large difference over 30 years because every dollar comes straight off the balance that interest is charged on. On a $680,000 loan at 5.5%, adding $100 to each fortnightly repayment clears the loan in about 26.3 years instead of 30 and saves $101,931 in interest. Adding $250 a fortnight brings it down to about 22.4 years and saves $205,603.
On a fixed rate, check how much extra your bank allows each year before a break fee applies. Paying extra on the floating portion of a split loan avoids the question altogether.
At an example rate of 5.5% over 30 years, a $680,000 home loan costs $890.38 a week, $1,781.12 a fortnight or $3,860.97 a month. Total interest over 30 years on fortnightly repayments is $709,276.
Most banks want 20% for an owner-occupied home, because the Reserve Bank limits lending above 80% LVR to 25% of each bank's new owner-occupier loans. On an $850,000 home that is $170,000. Investors generally need 30%. New builds and Kāinga Ora First Home Loans are exempt from the limits.
A little. Paying fortnightly at the same rate means the balance falls slightly sooner, so on a $680,000 loan at 5.5% over 30 years total interest is $709,276 fortnightly against $709,947 monthly. Paying half the monthly amount every fortnight saves more, because you make 26 half-payments, which is 13 monthly payments a year.
The bank offers new rates and you refix, split the loan, or roll onto the floating rate. Fixed for 1 year at 5.5%, a $680,000 loan still has $670,851 owing at the end of the year; after 3 years it is $650,974. If you refix 1 percentage point higher on the full loan, the fortnightly repayment rises to about $1,982.79.
It is the cost a bank charges if you repay or change a fixed-rate loan before the term ends and wholesale interest rates have fallen since you fixed. The Credit Contracts and Consumer Finance Act lets the bank recover a reasonable estimate of its loss, not a penalty on top. Ask for a written quote before you break.