Interest-Only Home Loans in NZ

Interest-only periods are available in NZ but limited — typically 5 years maximum for owner-occupiers and up to the lender's policy maximum for investors. Banks apply additional servicing tests for I/O because principal must still be servicable at expiry.

The question

Should I take an interest-only period on my home loan?

Factors that matter

› Maximum I/O period varies by lender (typically 5 years owner-occupier, longer for investors)
› Servicing test must pass on principal-and-interest basis at I/O expiry
› I/O rates are typically the same or marginally higher than P&I
› Total interest paid is higher over the life of the loan if principal isn't reducing
› Common investor strategy: I/O to maximise tax deductibility + free cashflow for portfolio growth

Talk it through with an adviser

Your numbers matter — an adviser from Evolve Group Limited (FSP711891) can model this scenario against current carded rates and your servicing position.

Get Matched

Important: how to read this information

This website is operated by Evolve Group Limited (FSP711891), a Licensed Financial Advice Provider regulated by the Financial Markets Authority (NZ). The information published here is general in nature and is not personalised financial advice. For personalised advice that takes your circumstances into account, request to be matched with one of our licensed mortgage advisers via the enquiry form.

Rate accuracy. Rates shown across this site were observed at 21 May 2026, 12:27 pm from each lender's published carded-rate page (linked per row). If a lender has updated their rates since that timestamp, the authoritative source is the lender's page, not our derived snapshot. Carded rates are advertised rates — the rate you ultimately receive depends on your application.

CCCFA + Responsible Lending Code. Final lending decisions are made by the lender under the Credit Contracts and Consumer Finance Act 2003 and the MBIE Responsible Lending Code. Lenders apply servicing-test rates (typically around 8% post-2023), debt-to-income caps (RBNZ DTI 6× owner-occupier / 7× investor from 2024), and Loan-to-Value Ratio limits. Carded rates are not an offer or a pre-approval.

Disputes. If you have a complaint about advice received through this site, contact Financial Services Complaints Limited (FSCL) on 0800 347 257 or info@fscl.org.nz.

Site operated by Evolve Group Limited, FSP711891. Rates snapshot generator: scripts/snapshot-lenders.mjs. Machine-readable snapshot: /api/rates/facts.json.