Barfoot and Thompson has just released its annual landlord survey - and it revealed most are planning to put rents up by about 5 per cent.

A British hedge fund founder is believed to have paid a New Zealand record price for an apartment, buying a sprawling 930sq m luxury Auckland penthouse for close to $8 million.

An uncomfortable silence falls over the auction room floor. The auctioneer scans the sea of faces urgently for a raised eyebrow that could signal an opening bid.

Owning your own home is the "Kiwi dream" but it's becoming out of reach for a lot of people. But fear not, here's ten reasons why you might prefer to stay renting.

Westpac has changed its business model after discovering landlords are on the rise with their share of house sales up from 37 per cent a year ago to 42 per cent last month.

Aucklanders flocked to open homes on Sunday, surer of their spending power post-election, and industry bosses are expecting sales to recover with spring now here.

Aucklanders reportedly flocked to open homes on Sunday, surer of their spending power post-election.

The lack of available housing in Sydney will take up to five years to correct, according to one of Australia's largest property developers.

Auckland councillor Chris Darby says architecture at the 282-residence 16ha Waimahia Inlet special housing area left him cold and buyers were put off.

House hunters desperate to secure their dream home are risking financial disaster by signing unconditional purchase agreements before their current property has sold.

Once considered the country's most expensive penthouse, which played host to America's Next Top Model and has the nation's highest swimming pool, is back on the market.

House prices in some Auckland suburbs are twice what they were just three years ago as the city experiences a second wave of booming property values.

The lavish hilltop mansion owned by Destiny Church leader Bishop Brian Tamaki and his wife, Hannah, is for sale.

Auckland's newest special housing area has just been announced and it's a huge site at Papakura. So how many new homes could it hold?

House sales fell 7 per cent in August according to REINZ figures as the upcoming election adds another uncertainty for buyers.

The Reserve Bank still sees interest rate increases in our future but fewer and further between than it foreshadowed three months ago, writes Brian Fallow.

The Productivity Commission has been sent back into the minefield of housing costs.

The significant changes witnessed since the introduction of the LVR are not necessarily the ones that have been widely reported.

The housing market is a fickle beast, prone to booms and busts that have little to do with how many people are actually looking for a place to live.

There's a “disconnect” between sellers' expectations and what buyers are willing or able to pay but that hasn't stopped values rising.

See how much your home has changed in value with the latest quarterly figures from QV.

Renting rather than buying looks like a good proposition for many in the Auckland property market, at least in the next 12 months.

Outer Auckland suburbs offer higher returns to landlords than more expensive central city suburbs such as Ponsonby and Mt Eden.

Apartments as small as a double garage are being promoted as the answer to Auckland's housing affordability problems.

QV has released latest house value data showing big rises nationally and in Auckland but growth rates are slowing.

The number of house sales are easing in Auckland, with some real estate agents citing uncertainty around the upcoming election as a key factor in the decline.

Auckland house sale volumes and average sale prices have slumped in August - so what's behind the slight cooling off of the market?

Construction work has started on what was Auckland's biggest construction hole - the controversial Soho in the heart of Ponsonby.

An original-condition two-bedroom Blockhouse Bay home has stunned its vendor and agent by selling at auction for well over twice its valuation.