It's late in the afternoon and dozens of people are packed into two auction rooms in downtown Auckland.

May saw the best month for house sales in the past six years, according to monthly property stats released today by the Real Estate Institute (with graphics).

House-hunters are seeing a return of "buy-off-the-plans" developments which advertise low deposits and no repayments until completion.

Auckland Council is sifting through 22,700 comments on its first regional rule book for growth.

The Auckland Council will today ask the Government to scrap provisions in new legislation allowing Wellington to take control of housing developments in Auckland.

A bank economist has warned of consumer spending sprees and widespread economic fallout if house price rises continue.

'It's obscene.' Housing Minister Nick Smith isn't impressed by the large gains being made by rural land owners, aided by the "straightjacket" of city boundaries.

A new report says housing has become a battle between old and young - and the younger generation certainly isn't winning.

The building sector is expecting a rise in fortunes as the economy recovers and the Canterbury rebuild gets into full swing about 2016.

Top real estate agents are making up to $1.5 million a year as they cash in on soaring property prices.

Momentum in the Auckland property market appears to have stalled, with Barfoot and Thompson reporting another month of flat prices.

The house-building sector is experiencing its biggest surge in more than a decade as demand for new places.

New Zealand has the fourth-most overvalued property prices in the developed world, according to a study by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.

A marine industry chief says his sector has shunned Hobsonville's Yard 37 development because it distrusts Auckland Council.

Desperate house-hunters are rushing into purchases without legal advice as the "always-missing-out" experience drives up property prices.

Kohimarama residents say the draft Unitary Plan's proposals for five "walls" of apartment blocks reaching back from the popular Auckland beach on Tamaki Drive will blot out the reason they chose to live there: a connection to the sea.

Mathew Ryan recently rejoined the Auckland house-hunt - but says he won't be getting caught up in any scramble to secure a home.

Lenders are offering home-owners the lowest short-term bank mortgage rates in New Zealand history as they compete to lure customers before an expected rise next year.

The Reserve Bank Governor Graeme Wheeler said the central bank had intervened in the currency market to take on the high New Zealand dollar in recent months and was prepared to "scale up" its activities if necessary.

Auckland's first mass affordable housing project, with homes priced from $320,000, could rise soon on a plant nursery site between Mt Wellington and Otahuhu.

Shandelle Battersby has just re-negotiated her mortgage.

Seattle's an economic engine, a leader in sustainability and a hub for culture and creativity, writes Dr Ann Bartos and John Mauro. It could easily be Auckland.

Auckland's 'frothy' housing market poses the biggest risk to the economy's strengthening recovery, the Institute of Economic Research says.

Auckland's booming residential market has pushed 10 new suburbs into the $1 million-plus club - raising the number to 17.

A rural village in West Auckland is set for a boost of 330 new homes.

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.