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.

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

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.

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

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.

House-hunters looking for a home under $400,000 should steer clear of the North Shore, where only 7 per cent of properties sold last month fell into that price range, and instead look at Papakura.

New mortgage lending restrictions could cause a dramatic reduction in the number of houses built each year and put many small construction firms out of business, the Registered Master Builders Federation says.

Fairway Bay at Whangaparaoa's Gulf Harbour will eventually add 1000 new houses priced from $595,000 to $850,000.

Up to 8000 families, couples and individuals trying to get into their first home will be stymied by the Reserve Bank's new lending restrictions, Finance Minister Bill English has acknowledged.

Customers unhappy with their pre-approved loans being pulled by ASB are being encouraged to take the issue up with the Banking Ombudsman.

The struggle to enter the property market for the first time has been a hot topic, from property availability to lending criteria.

A Kiwibank mortgage manager has been reined in after wrongly telling a customer it was pulling low deposit pre-approvals.

Finance Minister Bill English says ASB Bank has "let down" customers by cancelling home loan approvals as a result of new lending restrictions.

Auckland house-hunters Tristan and Jessica Lomberg are like many others in the city - they wanted a good, biggish place but not with a huge price.

ASB Bank has cancelled all pre-approvals for home loans over the 80 per cent loan to value ratio with effect from October 4.

Neighbours of a dilapidated Westmere home built by one of Auckland's pioneer architects fear parts of the property will collapse on young local children exploring the inside.

Low-deposit mortgages will not only be harder to get from the end of this month, but they will be a lot more expensive.

The Cornwall Park Trust Board has extended an olive branch to cash-strapped ground renters, offering to change the terms of 110 controversial leases.

Banks have already started tightening up their lending criteria for customers seeking low-deposit mortgages, despite new regulations not kicking in until next month.

Financially strapped home buyers are looking to Auckland's city fringes for affordable properties.

A longer commute to the office was a fair trade-off for the Howard family when they swapped their Birkenhead townhouse for a 2ha Kaukapakapa lifestyle block in April.

A family of seven had to leave their Greenlane house after ground leasehold payments rocketed from an annual $2045 to $35,000.

New figures show national property prices were up $5,000 in August, taking the national median price to $390,000.

An Auckland couple's wise investment in a massive piece of prime city land has provided a windfall for their family 61 years later.

Property valuer Quotable Value said this week house prices should keep rising for a further 15 months.