An Auckland resident has come up with a novel answer to the problem of unmowed berms - planting a corn patch.

The next big financial disaster to hit New Zealand investors could involve a collapse in house prices or the sharemarket, says departing investment watchdog boss Sean Hughes.

A builder demolished a leaky Onehunga property he bought for $440,000, shifted a 105-year-old worker's cottage on to the site and got $924,500 for the renovated home.

National house prices rose $17,475 last month to reach a $425k median. But are falling sales numbers a sign that new loan rules are starting to bite? (with new infographic)

Five new lenders have applied to the Government to offer Welcome Home Loans amid surging numbers using the first-home buyer scheme.

Builders expect a rush of first-home buyers planning to build new houses following the Reserve Bank's announcement they will be exempt from new mortgage lending rules.

The ground floor of the first block of Auckland apartments to rise since the global financial crisis is due to be poured on Saturday. Darren Brown, project director for the $250 million 615-unit SugarTree between Nelson St and Union St, said the project was the first major residential development in Auckland since the downturn last decade.

The Auckland Council reckons Auckland is 20,000 to 30,000 dwellings short of what it needs, writes Brian Fallow.The NZ Institute of Economic Research begs to differ, putting the shortfall at just 5000.

It would take 19 median incomes in Auckland to buy a home for the city's median house price, a Herald analysis has found.

Auckland property values continue to surge ahead, up 15.2 per cent in the last year.

Housing Minister Nick Smith and his Cabinet colleagues have finally decided to lead from the front in dealing with Auckland's housing crisis, writes Brian Rudman. They are to fast-track the purchase of 16.5ha at Hobsonville Pt.

Kiwis keen to sell off their homes continue to hold the upper hand in New Zealand's property market, despite a slight ease in the national asking price during November.

Financier's share from sale just a portion of $39m price - unless FMA gets it.

Westpac Bank has launched a new service offering electronic coaching to people saving for their first home and a $1000 carrot to those who manage to reach at least $10,000.

The coastal property market is making a comeback after years of stagnant or declining prices.

Auckland's most expensive house, the seven-bedroom mansion on exclusive Paritai Drive partly financed by former Hanover Finance director Mark Hotchin, has been sold to a businessman for $39m.

The building industry has stepped up pressure on the Reserve Bank over its loan to value ratio (LVR) loan restrictions.

A successful building plan will result in a 10,000-home oversupply in Auckland, says NZIER.

Making houses more affordable in Auckland will require far more land to be freed up .

A captain of a fishing vessel in Nelson was making more than $100,000 a year and living in a state house, Housing Minister Nick Smith said last night.

A four-bedroom Meadowbank home bought for $973,000 in May was sold for $162,000 more three months later despite no renovations.

A Victorian homestead in Pt Chevalier is being temporarily removed from its site while its church owner seeks a resource consent to permanently remove it and construct a replica building.

Four years since work started at northwest Auckland's 3,000-residence Hobsonville Pt housing estate, the 150th house is about to be finished.

Rent increases have made all low-income groups in Auckland except superannuitants worse off in real terms than they were five years ago, according to the Salvation Army.

A controversial beach property development at Te Arai Point, north of Auckland, has been approved.

People wanting to pay less interest and shave years off their mortgages are being advised to buy homes in "hidden-gem" suburbs.