Sales volumes around New Zealand increased in November but they remain well down on last year, new Real Estate Institute of New Zealand data reveals.

A Christchurch company has just launched New Zealand’s first commercial warrant of fitness (WoF) service for property owners – yet Wellington’s scheme is struggling.

Value growth has picked up again in many markets around New Zealand but the halcyon days of double digit increases look to be over.

If inflation doesn’t pick up by late 2018 interest rate cuts could again be on the cards, according to the Reserve Bank.

Uncertainty over the details of the government’s housing policies continues to weigh on the Auckland market - yet new data shows sales are up.

Vigilance when assessing potential tenants is critical but doing the necessary checking has just got easier for landlords with the arrival of a tenant scoring system.

The Reserve Bank’s easing of the LVRs could give some upward momentum to house prices but economists are not expecting the market to take off again.

Changes to Westpac’s qualifying income assessments mean that investors will now be able to claim 80% of their rental income as part of their income calculation.

Lending times have changed and, in its five years in New Zealand, RESIMAC has embraced those changes and thrived.

There’s been a big increase in new property listings but experts are questioning whether market demand will follow.

Rental properties will now be legally required to meet minimum standards after the Healthy Homes Guarantee Bill passed its third reading in Parliament tonight.

A big drop in apartment consents has driven a fall in dwellings consents overall in October, new data reveals – but there’s better news for Auckland.

The Reserve Bank’s move to relax existing LVR restrictions is welcome but does not go far or fast enough, according to property commentators.

Controversial debt-to-income ratios (DTIs) have been put on the back-burner by the Reserve Bank – for the foreseeable future.

The Reserve Bank’s decision to start relaxing the LVR restrictions early next year, which was announced in today’s Financial Stability Report, has taken economists by surprise.

Expectations that the Reserve Bank might loosen the LVRs in this week’s Financial Stability Report (FSR) are running high, but economists don’t think it will happen – yet.