From being outbid to building their own.

A year of open homes. Plenty of disappointment. Still no first home.

Like many first-home buyers, Kayla and Connor started their search in the existing housing market.

For more than a year, they spent their weekends visiting open homes, searching listings and putting in offers. Four or five times, they thought they'd found the one. Each time, someone else got there first.

Homes advertised within their budget were selling for considerably more than they could offer. And even when the price looked right, there was often the question of what they'd need to spend to make the property their own.

“It was honestly just so stressful,” Kayla remembers. “We started wondering if we were doing something wrong.”

They knew what they wanted from their first home. Finding something that worked for their budget, without taking on costly renovations or compromising on what mattered, was proving much harder.

What they hadn't seriously considered was buying new.

They thought a new home would cost more. Then they did the numbers.

For Kayla and Connor, a brand-new home had always seemed like the more expensive option. Like many first-home buyers, they assumed buying an existing property was the more achievable way into the market.

But after being encouraged to explore the House + Land packages at Classic Builders' Hapori Park development in Hamilton, they started looking at the numbers differently.

Rather than comparing purchase prices alone, they began comparing buying new with buying an existing home.

An existing home might come with an immediate need for renovations, maintenance or replacing things that were nearing the end of their life. And making an older home suit their lifestyle could involve significant additional expense.

With a new home, they could choose a layout and finishes they liked from the outset, with far less uncertainty about what they'd need to spend after moving in.

Suddenly, buying new didn't seem so out of reach.

And there was another advantage they hadn't expected.

Buying off the plan gave them something they needed: more time to save.

When Kayla and Connor secured their House + Land package at Hapori Park, construction hadn't yet begun.

That turned out to be a major benefit.

Rather than needing their full deposit straight away, they could secure their home with an initial deposit and continue building their savings while it was being constructed.

By the time settlement arrived, they'd saved enough to reach a 20% deposit, putting them in a stronger financial position than when they'd been making offers on existing homes.

It didn't happen without effort.

After returning from overseas, they lived with Kayla's parents and contributed board, something they acknowledge made a real difference. Connor worked overtime and took on extra jobs, while Kayla focused on earning bonuses at work.

They'd been saving for around two years, but they also made a conscious decision not to put their entire lives on hold. They still travelled, then worked to build their savings back up.

For them, the additional time between securing their home and settlement was an opportunity to get financially ready, without the pressure of competing at another open home every weekend.

One agreed price. No construction loan to manage. A much simpler way to buy.

As first-home buyers, Kayla and Connor were navigating plenty of unfamiliar territory, particularly when it came to mortgages, lending and understanding exactly what they could afford.

They'd briefly considered a home with another building company, but it wasn't available on a Turnkey basis. That meant navigating construction finance and the additional complexity that could come with it.

Classic Builders offered a different approach.

With their Turnkey House + Land package, they could pay an initial deposit, with the balance due at settlement once their home was complete.

There was no construction loan for them to manage during the build, and they had the certainty of knowing what they were committing to.

Their mortgage broker also helped them understand their lending options, what their repayments would look like and how everything would work once they moved in.

For a couple buying their first home, that clarity made a real difference.

Instead of worrying about what might happen next, they could look forward to watching their home come together.

Why renovate someone else's home when you can personalise your own?

One of the biggest surprises for Kayla and Connor was just how much input they could have into their new home.

Because they'd bought before construction began, they had the opportunity to make changes to suit the way they wanted to live.

They removed a wall to create a more open living area, made a small change to a wardrobe and even included a cat door for their two cats, Louie and Douglas.

For Kayla, choosing the interior colours and finishes was a highlight.

She arrived at her appointment with the Classic Builders colour consultant armed with a Pinterest board, samples and plenty of ideas.

Together, they worked through the available options to create the warm, natural look she'd imagined, combining creams, browns and wood-grain finishes with a light, open feel.

The result was a home that reflected their taste from day one, without having to move in and start renovating.

For first-home buyers who often feel they have to settle for whatever they can afford, that opportunity to make their first home their own was something special.

From the stress of house hunting to actually enjoying the experience

After a year of missed opportunities and disappointment, Kayla expected buying a new home might bring a whole new set of challenges.

Instead, the experience was very different.

With their home secured, each stage of construction became something to look forward to.

Their Construction Manager, Paul, was a consistent point of contact throughout the build, and any minor finishing items identified at their pre-settlement walkthrough were dealt with promptly.

The small issues that arose after moving in were also addressed.

For Kayla and Connor, what could have been another stressful process became an exciting one, knowing that each milestone brought them closer to moving into a home of their own.