I bet you’re wondering, how can spending more money save me money? That doesn’t make sense!
Well, let me explain.
As we all know, building a new home is a significant investment. It is often the largest investment most people make in their life. So if you’re going to be spending a lot of money, it pays to be smart about it.
Various costs come with building a home – buying a section, choosing a plan that suits your requirements, including your budget, and choosing all of the fittings and fixtures you would like in the home. All of these various costs add up to give you the final build price, which is typically paid off by a long-term mortgage.
Current interest rates are reasonably high at the moment, and this is largely due to the impact COVID has had on the global economy. The average Home Loan interest rate rests at roughly 7.99% p.a. The average house price for a First Home buyer in Canterbury is $750,000, with a minimum deposit of $75,000 (10% of mortgage value). Weekly repayments for such a mortgage, over a term of 30 years, equate to $1158 per week.
Back to saving money — if you upgrade your home to a Homestar 6-rated home, you could save up to 1% off your interest rate*. That might not sound like much, but when you work it out, you could save $168,731 off your total mortgage repayments over a 30-year term, or in other words, $5624 per year. That made you change your mind, right? How would it feel to have another $5624 per year in the bank?
You’re probably wondering what Homestar is! Homestar is an independent rating tool operated by the Green Building Council which assesses homes on how warm, healthy and dry they are. It measures the thermal performance, energy and water efficiency, as well as the overall healthiness of the home. Homestar requires that its homes are warmer, healthier and drier than the average home. A home built to the NZ Building code would typically score a Homestar 2 or 3 rating.
Some retail banks recognise Homestar as a fantastic tool and want to encourage more Kiwis to upgrade their homes by offering a 1% interest discount on their mortgage.
If you want to find more information about Homestar and how you could save over $150,000 off your mortgage, then feel free to get in touch with us! These significant savings may not be as expensive as you’d expect.
Thanks,
From the Team at Headstart Homes
