You are right SBQ, it is all about protecting NZ real estate and high prices, by succesive Governments and the banking system. Our 24 yo daughter is currently going through trying to buy a fist home (value approx $550-600k), with our family trust likely to buy 25% of it with her to make it easier. She has $105k saved and over $20k in KS that she can access.
The Trust has properties and shares but today I learned from our long term bank ANZ, that they no longer consider dividends (despite regular history for many years) from shares as income for their purposes of calculating income to debt ratio, which now is their preferred method and LVRs are basically redundant (in our case anyway).

So the healthy portfolio the Trust holds in NZX shares assets and the dividend stream from it, is totally ignored by the bank. If we had the same amount invested in rental property with the more unreliable stream of rental income, they would lend the Trust enough to buy several houses.
Go figure.