While house values continue to decline across the country, QV says one interesting trend is the relative strength of areas that have experienced strong first-home buyer activity over the past 12-18 months.

In Auckland, the country’s biggest housing market, the average house value has dropped by $282,647 since the beginning of last year.

A new entrant to the professional indemnity insurance market, Quadrant PI, is now offering retroactive cover as part of its standard package.

Two tenants who used their allocated parking space for storage have been told to remove their goods or they will be turfed out of their Manukau home.

Intensification has helped keep rents lower in Auckland.

Kiwi Mortgages principal adviser Rakesh Bansal says the recent Government move to increase the tax on trusts to 39% makes keeping investment property even more expensive.

A man who was named as a tenant on a Pukekohe rental but never lived at the property is still liable for part of $1,500 in exemplary damages awarded by the Tenancy Tribunal over other tenants’ drug use.

With net migration surging to new highs and the residential construction sector slowing on the back of rising interest rates, new demand for housing is now significantly outstripping new supply, the bank says in its latest Property Focus report.

While the RBNZ has put the OCR on pause, it still means a tough road ahead for 50% of mortgage borrowers, including investors, as their fixed term interest rates roll off on to higher repayments over the next six to 12 months.

A further rise in the OCR is being predicted for the end of the year by ANZ.

Squirrel Mortgages is confident yesterday’s OCR rise won’t have any upward impact on mortgage interest rates.

The Reserve Bank has lifted the Official Cash Rate to 5.5% and says interest rates need to stay higher to sustainably reduce inflation.

Too many good landlords are getting out of housing market, says Tim Kearins, Century 21 boss.

Buoyed by an almost 50% increase on early last year’s consumer spending, retail operators are now having to compete to secure prime locations in Auckland’s CBD.

Landlords have little to celebrate in the Budget.

Inland Revenue is reminding people thinking about selling a residential property to make sure they know their tax obligations.