
John Armstrong: Nick Smith sets up RMA as straw man for housing
The strength of Nick Smith's language in his savaging of the RMA prompted immediate concern in the environmental lobby he was trying to manufacture a crisis where there wasn't one.
The strength of Nick Smith's language in his savaging of the RMA prompted immediate concern in the environmental lobby he was trying to manufacture a crisis where there wasn't one.
Study warns that home ownership rates could drop below half in some parts of New Zealand within 20 years.
Precisely the same factors that plunged Ireland into its housing crisis last decade are now in play in NZ and could spark a big correction, says a leading Auckland fund manager.
Renters can strike a bargain when moving into a vacant property but they won't avoid rental price increases, a property expert says.
Renters can strike a bargain when moving into a vacant property but they won't avoid rental price increases, a property expert says.
Renters have been sheltered from the otherwise volatile housing market with rental prices remaining steady over the past months.
Got a problem? Then blame it on the Resource Management Act, writes John Armstrong. "Nick Smith is using the RMA as a smokescreen. The Auckland housing crisis is really a crisis of insatiable demand."
The Government has spelled out its masterplan for reversing skyrocketing house prices across the country - but will the 10-point plan work?
Property developers say the failure to quickly resolve Auckland's housing crisis is not their fault - lack of infrastructure is one of the biggest impediments to more building.
Banks have started cutting interest rates as the busy house-hunting season heats up. So how will it affect would-be home-buyers?
Auckland house values rose at almost twice the rate of the rest of New Zealand, up 9.8 per cent or $68,309 in the last year.
It took longer than it should have before I noticed the name on the letterbox in the middle of Woolleys Bay.
Bigger is better? Not when it comes to the price we're putting on selling smaller homes, according to new figures out from Trade Me.
A three-storey home which boasts a pool with its own pirate ship is up for sale - to anyone who can scrape together a $2,950,000 booty.
An overseas buyer paid more than $17 million for an Auckland mansion in what is now believed to have been the biggest residential property sale of last year.
New figures show Auckland property sales were the biggest in December for a decade - but it seems there's now a severe dearth of listings.
Robyn and Michael Higgins built their dream home in Wharewaka on the shores of Lake Taupo, and they even included a proper man cave. But a year later, they were hit by tragedy.
A luxury Remuera home described as totally rebuilt and in the sought-after Grammar Zone has sold nearly twice its new Auckland Council rating valuation.
The sale of a luxury Auckland penthouse for almost $8 million in May was the year's most expensive residential property purchase nationwide.
Pacific Island people, the poor and the young are bearing the brunt of Auckland's housing crisis through falling home ownership rates and crowding, a new report shows.
Auckland Council has undertaken a review of guidelines for methamphetamine-contaminated properties and developed tough new proposals to be implemented next month.
National housing rents rose at an annual pace of 5.3pc in November, as rental prices continue to plateau, according to Trade Me.
Almost a month after The Block's finale, new owners are yet to move into the four houses featured on the hit TV3 reality series.
Owners of top-end homes are getting richer the fastest, with strongest price growth in the $1 million-plus category, while people who own lower-priced places are not reaping the same rewards, data shows.
Apart from those planning on cashing up and moving away, the overheated market is a challenge for Auckland dwellers, writes Lawrence Yule. Buying in Auckland has simply become impossible for many.
Annual house sales rose for the first time in 13 months, driven by higher value properties, according to REINZ data released today.
Shanghai Pengxin's New Zealand property empire will soon reach into downtown Auckland, again igniting the issue of foreign ownership of property here.
A life-time of renting is becoming a reality for many New Zealanders, a survey shows, as the need for large deposits and big mortgages block their way to home ownership.