Nearly 60 per cent of Auckland houses sold to foreign buyers went to Chinese investors, new data shows.

An older-style and largely original three-bedroom bungalow overlooking the Titirangi Golf Course has sold under the hammer for $2 million.

Rampant speculators are cashing in big on Auckland's property market, with one house sold five times in just nine months.

A strip of coastal pohutukawa forest has been "devastated" along a Takapuna beach clifftop, on and adjacent to land belonging to a Rich List developer.

Aucklanders appear to be being short-changed when it comes to accessing a Government subsidy aimed at helping first home-buyers.

A 16 per cent drop in the Bank of New Zealand's net profit after tax was due mainly to lower gains on financial instruments, affected

An Aucklander who came up with a creative solution to skyrocketing house prices has been so far unsuccessful in search for a financial backer to fund the dream.

A "frightening" number of people are racing to buy Auckland homes without doing proper due diligence, a property expert says.

A NZ-born Chinese teenager has blasted the attitudes of some Kiwis towards her, saying they see her as "just another foreigner" here to buy their houses.

The 13 Sandbrook Ave bungalow in Otara went unconditional last night after the owners chose the best of two offers.

Barfoot and Thompson reports the slowest April in four years, while Quotable Value says values were up 2.1pc over the past three months.

Just seven months after new valuations were set for Hamilton homes, some are already fetching up to $205,000 above those figures.

COMMENT: We've all got high on our burgeoning property prices and no politician will likely have the courage to take our fix, and our paper wealth, away, writes Felix Marwick.

EDITORIAL: Our "Home Truths" series has concluded with some possible solutions to runaway house prices that leave many facing rented housing for the rest of lives.

At the end of Home Truths series, the three would-be buyers who invited readers to follow their journey tell Andrew Laxon how they found the experience.

COMMENT: As a candidate for the top job at the United Nations, it's my belief that everyone in the world deserves a safe harbour to rest.

Almost one in 10 houses in Auckland change hands within a year, a much higher turnover rate than the rest of New Zealand.

Tenants have been strongly advised to take out contents insurance to guard against being sued for damaging rental properties.

COMMENT: The housing affordability crisis is enough to have you waking in the middle of the night - sweating and screaming.

It is perhaps the world's most decadent deceased estate with a head-spinning $US120 million ($172 million) asking price.

Auckland Council's plans for higher density housing cannot succeed unless the city expands into the countryside, says the council's chief economist.

The bank and the Government need new solutions to the economic damage being done by this raging house market.

COMMENT: People without residency shouldn't be allowed to own NZ real estate. Land is the fundamental ingredient of a country, writes Raybon Kan.

Colin Chisholm turned down the chance to buy a house in Auckland two years ago, instead putting his money into shares and start-up businesses.

COMMENT: Tweaking interest rates or imposing a low rate of land tax to cool the housing market is likely to be ineffective, writes Bryan Gould.

COMMENT: Land tax is arguably the simplest, easiest to administer and most effective solution to housing unaffordability.

PM John Key this week proposed a new tax on offshore purchases. Could the Government be doing more?

An Auckland iwi has bought a block of Crown land at Hobsonville to build 430 homes - but iwi have failed to bid for the next block offered in Massey.