The news is good - and bad - says the Bank of New Zealand's Tony Alexander.

Global re-insurance companies will probably take the bulk of losses for claims from the Christchurch earthquake not covered by EQC, says Moody's.

Credit crunch has changed the landscape for residential building, writes Kevin Atkinson

A report prepared by business researcher Infometrics is predicting house prices will fall 4.1 per cent by next June.

NZ's residential property sector remained subdued last month with permits for new construction edging up from a slump in May, while commercial property extended its decline.

The number of consents issued for new homes fell 9.5 per cent during May, following a 13.4 per cent rise during April, Statistics New Zealand says.

About 10,000 new homes need to be built in NZ to keep pace with population growth and ease the current housing squeeze, a new report shows.

Nick Smith says he is "delighted" a $15 million defamation lawsuit against him has been settled out of court.

It is notoriously hard to fix up a leaky building that has been poorly designed or built to start with.

Building consents issued in February jumped 10 per cent, after rising one per cent the month before.

The seasonally adjusted volume of residential building activity rose 7.4 per cent in the December quarter, while non-residential volume fell 6.1 per cent.

The Government is defending its $347m home insulation scheme against criticism its 'one size fits all' approach is inadequate.