They get pre-approval, start attending viewings, and feel that the hard part is behind them. Every house begins to look like the one that could finally be theirs.
MoreGage planning example
What does it cost to buy a house?
This is a worked forecast showing how the costs can build up across the houses you look at before you finally buy one. These are example planning amounts, not quotes.
Costs vary by provider, property, council, contract, timing, GST, and disbursements. This example does not tell you whether to bid, sign, waive a condition, or proceed.
Dave and Diane: from pre-approval to the house they finally bought
Dave and Diane are a Tauranga first-home-buying example couple from the MoreGage character set. They have two PAYE incomes, no declared debts, cash savings and KiwiSaver, and a careful preference for predictable costs. Pre-approval gives them a starting range, but it does not make the search cheap or guarantee that a suitable house will be available at that price.
They spend money to check houses properly, then miss out anyway: another buyer pays more, an inspection finds moisture, or a valuation will not support the price. The disappointment is not only emotional—the search has now cost $11,150 before settlement.
On the 11th house, the checks support the price and the purchase goes ahead. The final forecast is $16,450: a reminder that the cost of buying one house can include the ten houses that came before it.
Worked forecast
Ten earlier houses, then the house you buy
The first ten columns are example houses you pursued. The final column is the purchase house. Remove an earlier house or add one back before the purchase column.
| Cost | House 1A | House 2N | House 3N | House 4A | House 5N | House 6N | House 7A | House 8N | House 9N | House 10A | House 11Purchase houseN | Total forecast |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Costs that may repeat while searching | ||||||||||||
| Lawyer review | $400 | $400 | $400 | $400 | $400 | $400 | $400 | $400 | $400 | $400 | — | $4,000 |
| LIM report | — | $400 | $400 | — | $400 | — | — | $400 | — | — | $400 | $2,000 |
| Building inspection | — | $750 | — | $750 | — | $750 | — | $750 | — | $750 | $750 | $4,500 |
| Registered valuation | — | — | — | $900 | — | — | $900 | — | — | — | $900 | $2,700 |
| Costs that happen once when you buy | ||||||||||||
| Purchase conveyancing | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | $2,300 | $2,300 |
| KiwiSaver administration | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | $100 | $100 |
| Insurance before settlement | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | $250 | $250 |
| Settlement adjustments and disbursements | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | $600 | $600 |
| Total for this house | $400 | $1,550 | $800 | $2,050 | $800 | $1,150 | $1,300 | $1,550 | $400 | $1,150 | $5,300 | $16,450All houses |
Why each house was missed or bought
Outbid at auction after the couple had paid for the lawyer to review the auction documents.
The building inspection raised an unconsented-work and moisture concern, so they did not proceed.
Another buyer offered more in negotiation after Dave and Diane had ordered the LIM.
The registered valuation came in below the price needed for the lender, so they stepped back.
The vendor accepted another offer before their conditional negotiations finished.
A second inspection found a likely leaky-home issue and the repair risk felt too large.
The auction terms and title information created questions they could not resolve in time.
Their offer was sound but another buyer offered more without the same conditions.
The conditions could not be agreed before the deadline.
The property did not fit their budget after the full reports and legal review.
Purchase completed after the earlier search.
Forecast summary
The cost is more than the final conveyancing bill
In this example, inspections, reports, reviews, and auction preparation on houses you do not buy are included in the search cost.
Earlier search costs$11,150Example forecast
One-time purchase costs$3,250Example forecast
Total forecast$16,450Example forecast
Forecast notes
The legal forecast uses GST-inclusive rounded planning amounts: about $400 for an unsuccessful offer or auction review and about $2,300 for the completed purchase legal work. Some fixed-fee arrangements include several unsuccessful offers, while others charge for offer work separately.
The LIM example is rounded from a standard Tauranga residential LIM fee of $395 inclusive of GST; urgent service, property-file bundles, and other councils can cost more. The building inspection example of $750 sits inside current standard-home planning ranges, but larger or specialist work can cost more.
Example forecast checked 15 August 2026; it is not a quote.