It's risky policy for a liberal, left-of-centre party because it leaves them open to accusations of xenophobia, writes Liam Dann.

Jamie Peters salvaged property from his "crumbling" businesses, secured hundreds of thousands of dollars for his family and managed his bankruptcy on his own terms, the High Court has been told.

Jamie Peters was put up in a $1200&-a-week Remuera house by a company that almost a year earlier had cancelled the bankrupt property developer's employment agreement.

More than $300,000 from the sale of a $2 million luxury yacht ended up with a company directed by his father-in-law, a court heard yesterday.

A former rich-lister is back at the High Court today, fighting to be discharged from bankruptcy - one of 24 the Official Assignee has objected to releasing.

A Bankrupt Kiwi property developer is still living in a 660sq m Las Vegas home despite defaulting on its $2.8 million mortgage four years ago.

The Reserve Bank has announced it will lift the ratio of deposits to loans in order to take the heat out of the housing market, writes Gareth Morgan.

There is no good reason for Jamie Peters' bankruptcy to be extended as he faces Official Assignee claims he still has control of significant assets.

Ex-rich-lister Jamie Peters entered into a finance agreement on a luxury car at a time when he was unable to pay debts when they fell due, the High Court heard today.

Almost $650,000 from the sale of a boat that Jamie Peters had personally used ended up in a bank account which the ex-rich-lister accessed during his bankruptcy.

Former rich-lister Jamie Peters has told the High Court he "barely survived" using $80,000 from a friend's bank account.

'It's obscene.' Housing Minister Nick Smith isn't impressed by the large gains being made by rural land owners, aided by the "straightjacket" of city boundaries.

If house prices start rising faster, it can require lenders to reduce the proportion of the property value they are prepared to lend, writes David Mayes.

A Metropolis penthouse owner paying $28,000 a year in body corporate fees has put his place on the market for $3.5 million.

Residents in Auckland five-star tower Metropolis are paying $3.25 million in annual body corporate fees but a further $4 million is needed from them for a big repair job.

Owners of apartments in Auckland's five-star Metropolis tower are pitted against one another in battles which have ranged from cat-keeping to who sits on the body corporate.

A resident of New Zealand's tallest apartment tower has lost a bid to injunct body corporate members.

Against a backdrop of rising share prices and a booming Auckland housing market, investor confidence reached its highest level.

Standard & Poor's, the global credit rating agency, has put eight local banks on notice over the rising risk of a housing bubble bursting in New Zealand.

Residential rents could rise and historic buildings might be abandoned, say property chiefs who have mixed feelings about real estate changes in the Budget.

Market players were left unimpressed by a big profit rise at NZX-listed landlord Goodman Property Trust, saying management were the only ones gaining financially.

Fourteen apartments, starting from $1.25 million, will be built on the Ponsonby Bowling Club site in Herne Bay in Auckland.

In the last quarter of 2012, there were 461 mortgagee sales, 11 per cent down from the previous quarter and 24 per cent less than the same quarter the year before, according to statistics released today by Terralink International.

A Property For Industry investor is waiting for more information on a proposal to almost double the size of the $382.2 million NZX-listed business.