Two families have been accused of blocking a hapu from developing its coastal Northland property say they are out to protect the environment.

The rate of repairs to earthquake-damaged Housing New Zealand homes in Christchurch has been slammed for being "painfully slow".

The battle over a proposed controversial Bunnings in Grey Lynn will likely be headed for the Environment Court - irrespective of a decision by planning commissioners.

Kindercare and the St James Kindergarten are opposing Bunnings Warehouse Grey Lynn, raising safety and health threats to children.

The first batch of 6000 new homes for fast-track residential development in Auckland has got a lukewarm response from property experts.

Protestors carrying signs saying 'Bugger Off Bunnings' have picketed Auckland Council this morning as a hearing on setting up a Grey Lynn branch continues.

One of Australasia's biggest infrastructure, resources and roading businesses wants to eliminate fatalities in the year ahead.

First-home buyers in the provinces will be given a subsidy of up to $20,000 to move into vacant state houses, Housing Minister Nick Smith announced today.

The Reserve Bank's new mortgage lending restrictions come into force today, restricting the number of high loan-to-value ratio mortgages banks can lend.

Prime Minister John Key has dismissed builders' concerns that new Reserve Bank mortgage lending limits will reduce the number of new homes being built.

The trend for the number of consents granted for new houses appears to be flattening after two years of growth, Statistics New Zealand said today.

New mortgage lending restrictions could cause a dramatic reduction in the number of houses built each year and put many small construction firms out of business, the Registered Master Builders Federation says.

The tradesman's best friend and guardian of the ute toolbox - his dog - is going the way of the wolf whistle on building sites.

Auckland's first special housing areas earmarked for fast-tracked residential developments could be announced this month.

Auckland's property boom and renovation programmes such as The Block NZ have prompted a rush of DIY, but experts warn buyers not to get in over their heads.

A Lincoln University building has been shut down after a concerned staff member took a swab of some dust which returned a positive test for asbestos.

Fletcher Building's Winstone Wallboards unit has temporarily closed a plasterboard factory in Christchurch after finding traces of asbestos in the building.

Building products giant Carter Holt Harvey is among companies battling a multimillion-dollar claim brought by the Ministry of Education over leaky schools.

Editorial: What exactly is the holdup in Christchurch? A year has passed since the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority drew up a plan for the rebuild of the city centre but nothing seems to be happening.

In what turned out to be a tale of two countries, Fletcher Building announced a lift in its annual net profit yesterday, with Australia's economic downturn detracting from a strong showing in New Zealand.