House prices continued their upward momentum last month.

The housing market has a head of steam up, Westpac economists say, but they expect a downturn late next year.

A big chunk of the surviving finance company sector is unlikely to outlive the retail deposit guarantee.

Investors in Hanover Finance will not now get all their money back and are instead likely to receive 70c in the dollar over five years.

A shortage of homes for sale has pushed Auckland's residential property values higher than a year earlier, QV figures show.

Rich Lister Gary Lane wants more than $10 million for a piece of land once donated to the people of Auckland - and estate agents say someone will cough up the cash.

Auckland property prices surged nearly 6 per cent in October, says real estate company Barfoot & Thompson.

A one-room bach with a long-drop toilet and just enough room for a bed is on the market for a cool $1.3 million.

Rising house prices and interest rates have combined to weaken home loan affordability to its worst level since December 2008.

The number of houses sold in September rose 10 per cent, while prices increased 0.9 per cent.

Songwriter extraordinaire Neil Finn is also proving himself adept as a property developer.

Failed major developments in New Zealand are piling up, like the Soho Square project in Ponsonby which is now mocked as 'Sohole'.

The Federal Reserve is beefing up its examination of US banks, fearing that profligate lending to commercial property developers could ultimately prove as damaging to the financial system as the subprime mortgage debacle.

A former NBR Rich List Aucklander says a $100 million debt led to him being declared bankrupt.