Auckland house prices rose at the rate of $677 a day in November, based on the average price increase from October to November.

Kiwis keen to sell off their homes continue to hold the upper hand in New Zealand's property market, despite a slight ease in the national asking price during November.

First-home buyers in Auckland are flocking to the west, where there are more new buyers than anywhere else in the country, latest data shows.

The share of new mortgage lending going to borrowers with low deposits halved in October, the first month in which the Reserve Bank's curbs on such loans applied.

The building industry has stepped up pressure on the Reserve Bank over its loan to value ratio (LVR) loan restrictions.

Lending restrictions are starting to ease the pressure on the property market but first-home buyers are still finding it tough as prices and interest rates creep up.

A fall in the number of first-home buyers is plaguing Australia too - evidence, the Finance Minister says, that it's not the Reserve Bank's mortgage restrictions.

Fed chair nominee Janet Yellen says the US economy has gained ground, but still needs support as unemployment is still too high.