A 150-year-old mansion hidden on a remote island and linked to Governor Sir George Grey is all yours for a little under $2 million.

Is it better to sell down now and reduce the mortgage burden and then to save some money for retirement - if my health holds I don't necessarily need to retire at 65?

More than half of home building sites inspected in a safety clampdown have been closed or ordered to stop dangerous practices.

Changes to bank lending criteria are making it easier to buy apartments, but experts say increased competition will force prices up in Auckland's overheated market.

Modest rentals for beach houses and baches on Auckland Council parks are under pressure from Mayor Len Brown's drive to wipe $2.6 million from the rates bill.

Any approach to lifting housing affordability has to be broader than boosting the responsiveness of the supply side of the construction market, writes Brian Fallow.

It's as though the market has failed to deliver this core tenet of National Party faith, and so the party does not know what to do, writes Brian Rudman.

The challenge facing Auckland is not just of making housing more affordable but actually building enough houses, writes Gary Taylor.

No wonder National avoided over-selling the contents of their plan to make housing more affordable, writes John Armstrong. "The plan looks more like a rough first draft."

Editorial: The affordability issue will not be tackled effectively until the Government also looks at the other side of the market equation and seeks to reduce demand.

A sell-off of ministerial homes has raised more than $3m, but more valuable remaining properties worth about $18 million are unlikely to be put on the market.

Authorities given ultimatum to help increase supply of affordable housing.

Prime Minister John Key says fast-tracking the supply of land will help solve the housing affordability crisis.

Restrictions on what could be changed on their house, meant one Auckland family had to think outside the box on renovations.

Up to 80,000 Auckland homes have to be demolished and replaced with townhouses and apartments to create the world's most liveable city, says a housing expert.

One Herne Bay home sits in a street of seven multimillion-dollar houses - which has seen its price tag soar from $22,000 to $2.65m in 54 years.

Heritage advocates and local residents waved placards outside a villa occupied by the Erawan Thai restaurant in Jervois Rd, Herne Bay this morning.