The country's most expensive suburb is out of reach for many with an average house price of nearly $2 million - but sales there are still thriving.

It's disastrous socially because for most low and middle-income families, buying a house in Auckland is now not even remotely possible, writes Don Brash.

The greater issue is whether the workforce would be available given the mass exodus of skilled Kiwi workers to Australia and the demands of Christchurch, writes Ashley Church.

The Auckland Council hasn't done any work to compare urban and rural infrastructure costs as it asks Aucklanders to adapt to a new way of life.

Asian business migrants looking at moving to New Zealand are being urged to invest in real estate to secure their residency.

Up to seven annual Auckland incomes would now be needed to buy a property in the city for its median house price.

Whether it's walls of apartments on the ridges overlooking Browns Bay or 18-storey high rises in Newmarket, the council is facing a chorus of complaints.

A former Coromandel real estate agent who forged his clients' initials on a document has been fined $700 - a fraction of the penalty he could have faced under new legislation.

The first house is rising at Todd Property's new Long Bay residential estate on the northern outskirts of Auckland.

Each owner of leak-struck twin tower high-rise Hobson Gardens faces paying $50,000 to $75,000 to get their unit fixed after the collapse of Mainzeal Property & Construction.

Aucklanders are looking as far away as Hamilton to buy homes as more people find themselves squeezed out of their local real estate market.

The draft Auckland Unitary Plan proposes a fundamental change to the urban fabric of Auckland, writs Richard Burton. Multi-storey, high-density apartment buildings formerly reserved to the inner city and adjoining areas are now proposed.

Half of suburban Auckland built up with three-storey apartments? Under the rules of the draft Unitary Plan it's about as likely as the sun setting in the east.

Plans to intensify Auckland with terraced housing and apartment buildings are deja vu for one community, which met last night to discuss the potential changes.

The CV is misleading and potentially damaging to the process of real estate, writes Alistair Helm.

Standard & Poor's, the global credit rating agency, has put eight local banks on notice over the rising risk of a housing bubble bursting in New Zealand.

Residential rents could rise and historic buildings might be abandoned, say property chiefs who have mixed feelings about real estate changes in the Budget.

The Government says it will take control of housing planning and consent processes from councils if they do not act quickly enough to free up land for houses.

The continued sprawl of New Zealand towns and cities across productive land is a concern, writes Deb Milliken. It is a particular concern around Auckland.

Auckland Mayor Len Brown is refusing to help a community battling plans by hardware giant Bunnings to build a big box retail store alongside homes and kindergartens.

As a Kiwi who has recently returned to live in New Zealand after 50 years overseas I am distressed the mayor's growth management policies in Auckland.

The Green Party wants to bolster Kiwibank's capital so it can "really take on the Aussie banks".