58,539 babies were born in New Zealand in the year ended March 2025. Every one of those 58 thousand little new New Zealanders will eventually need somewhere to live. But the reality they’re born into isn’t promising.

New Zealand’s housing market has long decoupled from wages, making homeownership feel like a pipe dream for many. Instead of earnings determining who buys a home, it increasingly depends on whether your parents can help.

The average age of a first-home buyer is now 36 nationwide, and even older in Auckland. That’s not a lifestyle choice; it’s a reflection of affordability.

The uncomfortable maths of the Bank of Mum and Dad

The numbers don’t lie: in 2022, the "Bank of Mum and Dad" ranked as New Zealand’s fifth-largest mortgage lender. By 2024, around 34% of first-home buyers had received help from family, and in Auckland that jumped to 58%. The average parental contribution was $108,000, with Auckland parents often pitching in even more.

And this help doesn’t come lightly. 62% of assisting parents dip into their savings, 17% reduce their expenses, and another 17% go as far as borrowing against their own home. One in ten experience moderate to serious financial stress as a result of helping their kids onto the property ladder.

This isn’t a scalable or fair model. Not every parent has six figures to spare. But what if there was another way?

Could a dollar a day make a difference?

Imagine if instead of coming up with 10s or 100s of thousands in your 30s, parents had started saving $1 a day from the day you were born. Put into your KiwiSaver account and invested, this simple habit could lead to a meaningful sum by the time you turned 36.

Using Morningstar data, let’s assume average returns of:

• 4.3% p.a. (conservative fund)
• 6.7% p.a. (balanced fund)
• 9.3% p.a. (aggressive fund)
  

Contributing $365/year from birth, investing just $1 per day could grow to in 2025 dollars:

• ~$18,000 (conservative)
• ~$30,000 (balanced)
• ~$52,000 (aggressive)
  

In nominal terms, that’s up to $96,000 by the time you go to buy a house at just $1 per day.

Feijoa: Making it seamless

Feijoa helps make this vision real. With Feijoa every time a parent spends, they can have a few cents rounded up and pushed into their little ones’ KiwiSaver account. Set-and-forget micro-investing means even those with irregular income can build wealth gradually. No need to wait for a windfall, just build a habit.

Tools like Feijoa turn daily spending into future deposits. They help families without deep pockets use time and consistency as their advantage.

A new path for the next generation

Another 58,000 kids will be born next year. If we want them to have a shot at homeownership without relying on intergenerational wealth transfers, we need smarter, earlier, fairer ways to build up a deposit. $1 a day might not sound like much. But over three decades, it could be the difference between owning and missing out.

‍

‍

Disclaimer: The information provided in this article is for general informational purposes only and is not intended to constitute financial advice. It does not take into account your personal objectives, financial situation, or needs. Before making any financial decisions or changes to your KiwiSaver contributions or investment strategy, you should consider seeking advice from a licensed financial adviser. Past performance is not indicative of future results, and investment returns are not guaranteed.

‍