A two-bedroom home with its original 1950s bathroom and kitchen and not in one of Auckland's hottest suburbs has sold for $1.08 million.

The heart of Silicon Valley and home to two of the three most valuable companies in the world, has a shortage of almost 54,000 affordable housing units to shelter its lowest-income workers.

A growing number of home buyers in the US are bringing an unusual tactic to the negotiating table: an all-cash offer.

The number of people buying homes with a deposit of less than 20 per cent is rising for the first time since the new mortgage-lending limits were introduced.

Pasifika people are drinking less, staying away from crime and doing better at school.

A done-up Ponsonby villa that was auctioned with more than $100,000 of extras to sweeten the deal pulled a top bid of $1.67 million.

An exclusive seaside mansion at the centre of a heated quarrel between a retired couple and their son is still off the market - despite a High Court ordering a swift sale.

The country's most expensive state home has sat empty for 18 months while neighbours in the same driveway endure rowdy trespassers - sparking a government-ordered review.

A property developer Tony Gapes will be back in control of one of NZ's most intensive affordable housing projects if he settles a debt within 20 days.

The woman who claims she could not afford a $73,750 annual Greenlane leasehold bill was involved in three other multimillion-dollar Auckland property investments.

Institutional investors are praising the annual result of Kiwi Income Property Trust, saying it reflects the management shakeup which saw the exit of Commonwealth Bank of Australia.

A sorry list of deterioration to a $2 million-plus Auckland mansion at the heart of litigation against a lessee was read out in the High Court this morning.

Labour and Greens have pulled their support for a law change which cracks down on migrant exploitation.

Leasehold land prices around Auckland's Cornwall Park go up about ten-fold when prices are reset every 21 years, the High Court at Auckland was told yesterday.

The housing crisis in London is seeing home prices spiral to records and prompting a developer to build discounted homes for those shut out of the boom.

Ground rent of $173k is being sought from Yong Xin Chen in a case being brought by the Cornwall Park Trust Board.

Real estate agent Jason Trowbridge didn't bother tidying up the rooms for the photos of the Grey Lynn villa he's trying to sell - he says any likely buyers will see past the mess.

Sometimes, a hedge fund billionaire just can't catch a break. Just ask Steve Cohen.

Aspiring first-home buyers looking for a leg-up into the property market in yesterday's Budget had little to cheer about.

Graeme Wheeler delivered a trenchant defence of the bank's curbs on high loan-to-value ratio home loans yesterday when challenged by National MP Jami-Lee Ross that the regime had been "almost too effective".

New Zealand is the fifth most popular place Chinese buyers look to purchase residential property, says a Chinese website.