A shortage of homes for sale has pushed Auckland's residential property values higher than a year earlier, QV figures show.

Rich Lister Gary Lane wants more than $10 million for a piece of land once donated to the people of Auckland - and estate agents say someone will cough up the cash.

A pastor and his family are giving up their $1m home to help raise funds for their church and a community centre.

Only a small portion of the Government's allocated $18.4 million to help modest income-earners buy houses has been taken up.

Reading the latest report on the property market can be an uplifting or a deflating experience, depending on which report you choose to go by.

The traditional spring property sales surge has failed to materialise.

Residents near an iconic beach are unsettled by development plans but the land's owners are promising not to ruin the untouched paradise.

The Reserve Bank has left official interest rates unchanged at 2.5 per cent this morning, while confirming they are not likely to rise till the second half of next year.

Interest rates have been left on hold by the Reserve Bank this morning, with governor Alan Bollard confirming again that he intends to keep them low till "the latter part of 2010".

Rising house prices and interest rates have combined to weaken home loan affordability to its worst level since December 2008.