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Every weekday join the new voice of local issues on Canterbury Mornings with John MacDonald, 9am-12pm weekdays.Its all about the conversation with John, as he gets right into the things that get our community talking.If its news youre after, backing John is the combined power of the Newstalk ZB and New Zealand Herald news teams. Meaning when it comes to covering breaking news you will not beat local radio.With two decades experience in communications based in Christchurch, John also has a deep understanding of and connections to the Christchurch and Canterbury commercial sector.Newstalk ZB Canterbury Mornings9am-12pm withJohn MacDonald on100.1FM and iHeartRadio. Language: en-us Genres: News, News Commentary, Politics Contact email: Get it Feed URL: Get it iTunes ID: Get it |
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John MacDonald: Expecting too much from the Bank of Mum and Dad
Monday, 11 May, 2026
When I was a first-home buyer, I can honestly say that I never expected any parental assistance with the finances. Now, granted, my father was no longer alive and I probably thought it would be a stretch for my mum to help out. But I had no expectations. And, as far as I can remember, I didn’t grow up with any expectation that the Bank of Mum and Dad would be there to get me onto the property ladder. Fast-forward to today, though, and we find out that nearly 50 percent of young adults do expect financial help.That’s according to the latest OneChoice Kiwi Housing Trends Report, which says 48 percent of 18-to-39 year olds say they need and expect help from their parents to get into their first home. Which I think is very unfair on parents, to have that expectation. I’m sure it’s probably very natural to want to help your adult kids buy their first homes. None of mine are at that stage yet. But the bigger question is whether it’s fair to have these expectations placed on parents.And I don’t think it is. The most common way for parents to help out is to use the equity in their home to get a loan, which they then pass on to their kids. Which is fine. But what if life throws those parents some sort of curveball and not having as much equity in their home as they used to works against them? If one of them needs to go into care, for example. Which is pretty much what a financial adviser is getting at today. The way I’d describe what he’s saying is that it’s a bit like being on the plane and putting your own oxygen mask on before you help the kids put theirs on. Tom Hartmann, who is a personal finance expert with Sorted, says he’s concerned about parents disadvantaging themselves by putting money into their kids’ homes. He says you shouldn’t be dishing out money to the kids to buy houses if it means retirement becomes more of a struggle than it should or could be. “Before someone is trying to help the next generation, they also need to take into account how they’re going to fill that gap.” He also says parents helping out with money for a first home need to be clear from the outset whether it’s a loan or a gift. And to formalise it. So, if it’s a loan, then people should get legal advice and get a loan agreement drawn up so that everyone’s clear what’s going to happen. As I say, my kids aren’t buying houses yet. And when it comes to helping them out, for me the bigger thing to consider is whether buying a house still makes sense. Because I don’t see houses necessarily being the asset they used to be, partly because I don't see future generations enjoying the same level of capital gain that we did. What’s more, owning a house might deliver you some financial gain down the track, but owning a home costs a lot of money day in, day out, doesn’t it? So is it really worth it? LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
