Expect the housing market to slow further once the new foreign buyer ban comes into force, Westpac’s chief economist says.

A capital gains tax would reduce house prices by 10.9% while taxing property investors on a deemed rate of return would cut them by 19.5%, Westpac estimates.

A former BNZ employee, a lawyer and the wife of a property developer have been found guilty of involvement in a $54 million mortgage fraud case.

Declining house prices and an increase in days to sell characterise the Auckland market but other markets are still seeing moderate growth, new REINZ data reveals.

The Government’s KiwiBuild “buying off the plans” tender has attracted strong interest from developers, according to the Housing Minister.

Developers are sitting on land in Auckland rather than building on it and that means the city’s housing supply drive is in hiatus, Colliers International NZ is warning.

A new stand-alone Housing and Urban Development Ministry is being established to tackle housing related issues ranging from affordability to homelessness.

The proposed “foreign buyers ban” is to blame for an increase in Auckland property sales to overseas buyers in the March quarter, according to the Property Institute.

The Government should run a public education campaign to address lingering misperceptions about meth contamination in the wake of the Gluckman report, an investor advocate says.

Some life has returned to the Auckland market with new Barfoot & Thompson data showing a significant improvement in sales activity in May.

More buyers than sellers plan to get into the property market over the next year and that will contribute further to a serious shortage of properties to buy, a new report warns.

Landlords should continue to tread carefully when it comes to the spectre of meth contamination – despite the release of the game-changing Gluckman report.

A surge in townhouse consents hints at positive news for housing supply – despite a dip in new dwelling consents overall in April.

Hopes that the Reserve Bank might be gearing up to ease the LVRs further have been dashed by this morning’s Financial Stability Report (FSR).

Millions of dollars have been pointlessly wasted on meth decontamination - going by an eye-opening new report which finds no evidence of health risks from third hand exposure in houses.

Worried about what the future holds for property investors? Market fears are premature, high profile speakers at a property investment conference over the weekend agreed.