It can be a bit of a disappointment to realise that your first home probably isn’t going to be as amazing as you’d like it to be. But it pays to be realistic about what you’re going to get. Make a list of must-haves and examine it – Do you really need a garden? A spare room? Make sure you’re not overlooking properties in your budget because they don’t fit your dream.

As Auckland’s population grows, the city grows with it. You may have to look far from Queen Street (unless an apartment fits the bill) to find houses within your price range – so be willing to consider suburbs you might not have looked at (or even heard of) before. Having said that, if you find a not-so-great house in a great location, jump on it. The land is what will make the biggest capital gain, so the value of your property will appreciate faster than a fabulous house in a less desirable suburb.

Yes, Auckland Grammar is a great school. But houses in the “Grammar Zone” are always going to be ridiculously expensive. There are a lot of other great schools in much more affordable areas. And if you don’t have kids or your children are only young, it’s not worth even looking in the area – plenty can change over the ensuing years.

From your mortgage adviser (that’s us!) to your lawyer, to your real estate agent, make sure you have a team that’s working with you in the home buying process. You don’t have to go it alone. Read our tips for working with real estate agents.

Auctions are a very popular way of selling a house at the moment because they offer the most for the seller. But you can figure out how to cope with auctions by going along to a few and seeing how people act. This will help you get a bit of a game plan together for when you’re going into one for real.

This holds true wherever you’re buying, but since Auckland has more people looking, the potential for disappointment is higher. It can be disheartening to watch the price of a house you’d set your sights on sail past what you can afford, but there will be others. Keep looking and you will find the place for you. Head here to check out our team of Auckland experts.