The owners of a house where a deck collapsed, sending about 20 people and a hot barbecue plummeting to the ground, say it was lucky no one was killed.

In the last quarter of 2012, there were 461 mortgagee sales, 11 per cent down from the previous quarter and 24 per cent less than the same quarter the year before, according to statistics released today by Terralink International.

Auckland homeowners could become about $24 billion richer under Auckland Council's proposed Unitary Plan as the value of sections will shoot up.

Statistics New Zealand has taken the pulse of the country's homes in its nationwide New Zealand General Social Survey.

A formerly state house-dominated street in Sandringham is set for major redevelopment after seven large sections were sold to a developer for more than $8 million.

Lynette O'Brien supports intensification of Papatoetoe so long as it is not like the "concrete jungle" of stucco townhouses in Shirley Rd.

Business editor Liam Dann is stumped as to what possible benefit the rise in the value of his house offers him.

Bernard Hickey says gums have been flappin' aplenty this week over the dangers of a housing boom.

Finance Minister Bill English used a pre-Budget speech to say the Government will act to curb rising house prices which represent a risk to New Zealand's economic recovery.

Auckland Council has handed a map to the Milford Residents Association and urged it to have a go at drawing an appropriate location for higher-density housing.

Homeowners are increasingly holding on to their properties and some would-be buyers are getting fed up with Auckland's record prices, says Quotable Value.

Housing valuations are the highest in seven years, prompting a slowdown in the market as some buyers hold off until prices become more affordable.

Climbing house prices and a growing proportion of lending at high loan-to-value ratios are stoking fears at the Reserve Bank of a boom followed by a destructive bust.

Kiwibank has today reduced its one-year home loan rate by 26 basis points and withdrawn a six-month special promotion.

Investors could soon be invited to put money into a new fund to buy Auckland residential property.

House buyers and sellers are more protected from dodgy agent dealings than before.

When Gaylene Mackereth left her home in Howick on a trip to the beach with her granddaughter recently, she paid a bit more attention than usual to the houses they passed.

The average New Zealand home owner could pick themselves up a lovely four-bedroom farm house in Brittany, France, or perhaps a 40-bedroom hotel in Veliko Tarnovo in Bulgaria.

Large parts of the country's building stock will be off-limits for disabled people under a proposal to trim the cost of upgrading thousands of earthquake-prone buildings, advocacy groups have warned.

Hobsonville is the sort of public-private partnership that when it comes to roads and schools buildings, this Government actively promotes, writes Brian Rudman.

The Bankers Association is critical of Reserve Bank proposals to increase the amount of capital banks have to hold against home loans with a high loan-to-value ratio (LVR).

If Auckland's housing woes can in part be laid at the door of residential investors as alleged, simply ban them, writes Bob Jones.

As one of the world's richest individuals he is unlikely to be too bothered, but the Sultan of Brunei has had trouble shifting some of his real estate he owns in New Zealand.

Auckland Council and the Government will create a working party to look at urgent issues relating to the city's housing crisis.

Homeowners looking to cash in on the skyrocketing prices of their central Auckland properties could be the reason for a levelling off or fall in rental costs.

Damien Grant believes selling in an overheated market is a smart move but paying 3 per cent of the asset's value to a real estate agent isn't.

A large slice of prime beachfront real estate is shaping up as the next battleground for those opposed to multilevel housing.

A new strategy is needed if we want young families to be able to buy homes as their parents and grandparents did, writes Jeff Walters. Unfortunately, there is no quick fix.

A World War II soldier's smart investment in prime Auckland land has provided a windfall for his family 80 years later.