Latest fromResidential Property

Slight increase in housing affordability
Housing affordability has improved slightly across New Zealand, with Auckland remaining the least affordable region and Southland the most affordable.

Editorial: Success of housing plans really depends on the buyers
Editorial: The Government firmly believes the solution to rising prices lies in increasing the supply of houses, not dampening the demand for them by restricting loans or taxing investments.

Leaky home family get $147,000
An Auckland family have been awarded $147,000 after buying a leaky home in Te Atatu in 2009.

New home plan no quick fix
The first batch of 6000 new homes for fast-track residential development in Auckland has got a lukewarm response from property experts.

Block sites set for high-rise
Sites of the Takapuna houses from last year's The Block renovation show are earmarked for buildings of at least four-storeys in the proposed Unitary Plan.

QV reports lift in property values
New Zealand property values rose at an 8.4 per cent annual pace last month ahead of the introduction of low-equity home lending restrictions,

Kids building foundations for real homes
Children's Lego house competition puts focus on Habitat homes for needy families.

Park board destroying residents' property values, claims lessee
A hard-nosed attitude by the Cornwall Park Trust Board is destroying property values, says one lessee.

Slice of The Block for sale
A chip off The Block will be up for grabs after the TV3 show's four renovated homes have been sold.

Housing NZ tenant told to pay $39k
A former Housing New Zealand tenant who claimed to have raised $1 million to buy her home has been ordered to pay back $39,000.

Top bach no place for mod-cons
A clifftop bach voted the most eco-friendly in New Zealand is no place to take your hairdrier or straightening iron - it may just blow up the power system.

Developers offer 172ha for park in controversial plan
A controversial Northland luxury housing development on a pristine eastern coastline goes before independent hearing commissioners appointed by Auckland Council on Monday.

John Armstrong: Parties play politics over housing crisis
There is, of course, already a healthy degree of consensus between central and local government in the form of National's Housing Accord with Auckland Council..

Insurance change costs homeowners
Homeowners who pay to get their house valued on top of insurance bills will be left out of pocket if the estimation is too low - but won't get extra if their premium was based on an overvaluation.

Beach block slashed by $8m
The 16ha Doubtless Bay property is advertised as a four-hour drive or 45-minute helicopter ride from Auckland.

First-home help comes with catch
First-home buyers have been thrown a lifeline in the form of a subsidised, vacant state house, but it comes with a catch - they'll have to move to the regions.

Prices reach record high
Property asking prices around the country have reached a record high, with a shortage of houses on the market helping to fuel demand.

Labour steps up attack on LVRs
John Key has hit back at Labour over new Reserve Bank mortgage lending limits, saying home buyers are better off under National due to lower interest rates.

Key 'confident' market will settle
Prime Minister John Key says he is confident the property market will settle down, despite the Reserve Bank's new mortgage lending restrictions.

How MPs got into first homes
Housing Minister Nick Smith and Auckland mayor Len Brown were in their own homes before they left university. We asked them how they did it.

Barkers' posh new home
Dean and Mandy Barker have a new multimillion-dollar project when they return from the America's Cup.

Relieved couple secure their first home
Alyssa Longville and Callum Carter (left) are among the few who were able to buy their first home with a mortgage of more than 80 per cent of the purchase price.