Homeowners looking to rent their properties out for the Rugby World Cup have been warned to let their insurance company know - or risk being hit with the bill if damage is done.

Mary Holm's financial advice column features an accountant who's fed up with complaining landlords.

Revenue Minister Peter Dunne has tipped a new property investment tax and lower personal taxes in this year's Budget.

Critics say our obsession with property is draining money away from real businesses, which create jobs and make New Zealand richer.

Property investors have warned that rents could go up by $34 a week if the Govt scraps landlords' depreciation claims on housing, but the Government says they are wrong.

Pat Baker, a $10 million landlady and grandmother, is bristling about being blamed for wrecking the economy.

The number of new properties on the market surged in February but with buyers "cagey", the number of unsold houses has ballooned.

New Zealand home affordability improved slightly in January after a fall in median house prices more than offset a small increase in fixed mortgage rates.

The dream of first home ownership will be made easier by Prime Minister John Key's likely tax reforms, economists said today.

The status quo for property investors cannot be sustained, Tax Working Group member John Shewan says.

The vice-president of the Property Investors Federation is relieved that most housing tax options were ruled out in Prime Minister John Key's speech yesterday, but he is wary of what is to come.

John Key is expected to target tax breaks for landlords in his first parliamentary speech of the year setting out the Government's plans.