An elderly Mangawhai couple who spent their funeral money to be connected to the town's new sewerage system were yesterday among residents fighting legislation that would force them to pay $17 million rates.

Is the pressure easing on the Auckland housing market? One economist thinks so, after the latest stats showed a largely flat property market.

The outlook for New Zealand's banks is stable but a housing bubble triggered by a low interest rate lending boom remains a key credit risk, according to Moody's.

The Auckland Council is scaling back intensification plans for the city weeks before October's local body elections.

Residents of the country's tallest apartment tower are due to meet at the end of this week to discuss issues which have dogged their property.

A rundown three-bedroom Auckland villa with a large hole in the toilet floor and watermarked ceilings has sold for $1.2 million.

The boss of an Australian non-bank mortgage lender says the pending cap on low deposit bank lending could be a catalyst for opening up the market to non-bank lenders.

Jason Rathgen is getting desperate - he sought pre-approval for a loan with a deposit of less than 20 per cent.

A controversial proposal to allow developers to build unlimited density housing in much of suburban Auckland is set to be rejected by Auckland councillors this week.

Finance companies could make a comeback in the wake of the Reserve Bank's clampdown on low deposit lending by banks.

Experts say tighter mortgage lending rules will only a partially ease house prices, writes Jamie Gray.

The widespread assumption that most first home buyers will be shut out of the housing market by the Reserve Bank's curbs on low-deposit home loans may be too swift.

The four homes made famous by The Block last year could be worth 10 per cent more than what they sold for in today's skyrocketing market, says a real estate agent who marketed one of the properties.

Now that we know what the Reserve Bank is doing by way of curbs on low-deposit mortgage lending the question is whether it will work, writes Brian Fallow.

New loan restrictions mean the "poor middle-class" hoping to buy their first home will be left out in the cold as banks cherry pick their ideal customers.

New controls on mortgage lending, which increase the deposit required to secure a home, will shut more New Zealanders out of the market, economists say.

Ngati Whatua might develop up to 100 residences on its 4.2ha Wakakura block near Devonport.

Home insurance policies have been rewritten thanks to Canterbury quakes - and not in policy holder's favour.

"Each time there are flurries of outrage from groups of tenants facing a 21- year land rent review, my first thought is, what did they expect?" writes Brian Rudman.

Couple snag Morningside home, believing the number 4 put Chinese competition off.

A four-bedroom home in Epsom has sold for more than $1 million - or 82 per cent - above valuation.

The list makes for alarming reading - real estate agents forging signatures, bad-mouthing properties for sale and giving false or misleading information when they were under investigation.

The latest KiwiSaver changes to assist first-home buyers appears to be a small band-aid, compared with a capital gains tax, writes Peter Bromhead.

The Government fired another shot in its battle to control rising house prices yesterday, announcing law changes it says will curb charges levied by local authorities on developers for providing infrastructure such as roads and sewerage to new subdivision

New Zealand buildings including houses will increasingly be manufactured in bulk in factories and assembled on site, and the consenting process will have to change accordingly, says Building and Construction Minister Maurice Williamson.

The Reserve Bank has moved a step closer to curbing the low-equity housing loans that banks can make.

Cross-lease property dispute escalates into costly legal stoush and ruling to demolish illegal structures.

It will be another two years before Auckland Council has a single direct debit system for rates, making life difficult for some ratepayers in the meantime.