The gulf between the Auckland housing market and the rest of the country appears to be widening according to the latest ASB Housing Confidence Survey.

Property investors have been spurred back into action by stories of rising rents and accommodation shortages and are back in the market, according to the first BNZ-REINZ survey of 2012.

The Government must make policy changes to reverse the slide in the amount of New Zealanders with insurance cover.

Property investors and landlords may be legally required to ensure their properties meet Government standards for heating and energy efficiency if a Bill proposed by Green MP Gareth Hughes becomes law.

The Auckland property market saw its strongest January in four years with prices reaching the highest average ever for the month, according to Barfoot & Thompson.

Claims New Zealand has no affordable housing have been dismissed by real estate chiefs.

Property finder Dorien Forster has broken her silence over her court battle with the Real Estate Agents Authority (REAA), questioning the role of lawyers in the transaction that led her to the High Court.

Sovereign has defended the cheaper premiums available on its products via The Warehouse website, saying advisers can compete by lowering their commission levels.

All major housing markets in New Zealand are “severely unaffordable” with Auckland leading the way as the country’s least affordable location to buy a house.

Leads – not leaks – is the real story of last year, according to Newpark general manager Darren Gannon.

The business insurance market is under the spotlight this year with two different initiatives to target the sector and new products.

Two recent court cases against advisers doesn’t appear to be encouraging advisers to seek professional indemnity (PI) cover.

Health Funds Association (HFANZ) has gone where the Investment Savings & Insurance Association (ISI) feared to tread and admitted Partners Life as its newest member.

The Institute of Financial Advisers (IFA) is to provide Westpac’s AFA staff with training in a move IFA chief executive Peter Lee says will benefit the whole advisory sector.

The number of mortgagee sales has increased over the last quarter - and this time it's mum and dad owners being hit rather than over-stretched property investors.

Financial regulations in New Zealand will be increasingly driven by overseas developments, according to Institute of Financial Advisers (IFA) chief Peter Lee.