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.

Despite the introduction of the Reserve Bank's lending restrictions, home affordability has continued to worsen according to a new report.

Homeowners who have stretched their budgets to get into the housing market in the past two years are likely to feel the squeeze as interest rates rise.

The Reserve Bank doubts its curbs on mortgage lending at high loan-to-value ratios will have a material counter-productive effect on house building.

NZ's median house price rose 1.9 per cent to a record in October, although sale volumes were dented as Reserve Bank lending restrictions began to bite.

Auckland house prices hit an all-time high, Barfoot & Thompson data just out showed, despite Reserve Bank lending restrictions.

The Reserve Bank's restrictions on low-deposit mortgage lending have yet to dent expectations that house prices will rise.

National property prices rose by $10,000 in September, taking the median house price back to a record high reached earlier this year.

Westpac has dropped its two-year fixed rate home loan but at the same time hiked its one-year rate.

Low-deposit mortgages will not only be harder to get from the end of this month, but they will be a lot more expensive.

New figures show national property prices were up $5,000 in August, taking the national median price to $390,000.

House prices dipped last month, says the Real Estate Institute, but the number of properties changing hands was up more than 10 per cent from the month before.

Auckland house prices rose for a third month in July as listings and sales jumped, according to Barfoot & Thompson, the city's biggest realtor.

The beginning of the end may have begun for record-low mortgage rates in New Zealand.

Mortgage debt is rising at the fastest clip for 4 years.

The number of New Zealand house sales slipped from a six-year high last month, but the national market is still being driven by Auckland and Christchurch.

Bill English says the Government is "considering formalising" proposals to restrict bank lending and other "tools" to control credit growth.

My adult daughter - my only child - has been living with her partner for nearly four years in a relationship that may or may not last - it seems to be up and down.

Moves to dampen surging house prices - especially in the Auckland market - came from two directions yesterday.

Debate about rising house prices in Auckland and elsewhere has included discussion on the risk weights the Reserve Bank requires banks to apply to their housing lending.

Banks are slashing their long-term mortgage rates, with customers tied up for longer periods likely to save thousands.

Mortgage approvals reached their highest levels in almost four years last month, as people rushed to make the most of low interest rates.

Self-described business coach Shane Wenzel has been sent to jail for three years for mortgage fraud.