The Salvation Army today called for radical new strategies from the Government to reverse an alarming trend in falling home ownership rates.

products. If you're not on the ball or fall for the flashy charts, you could find yourself with investments that will seriously dent your wealth.

Q: What are shares?

A: When you buy a share you get a small slice of a company such as Telecom NZ. As a result of your ownership you are usually paid a portion of the profits as dividends. If the share price goes up, you can also benefit from a capital gain when you sell.

Q: What is the difference between shares and funds?

A: A fund

New Zealanders think plastic is fantastic and are big on borrowing. So big that we owe $1000 on credit cards alone for every man, woman and child in this country, says cardwatch.co.nz.

House prices are still surging, but developers are struggling to make money because of rapidly rising land and construction costs.

Well it had to happen – another price war looks like breaking out, and once again it is the Bank of New Zealand which is starting the fight.

Unfair to clamp down on overseas property buyers- comment from Real Estate Institute after claims by Winston Peters

Residents and business owners are upset over a trial Housing New Zealand intensification project in Glen Innes becoming a "dumping ground for its poorest and most socially troubled clients".

A Palmerston North property developer is accused of making up his own property valuations and channelling a real estate firm's commission into his own pockets.

Palmerston North ratepayers face a 7-percent rates increase this year, the just-released annual draft plan reveals.

The number of building consents issued for new dwelling units in January fell to 2281 on a seasonally adjusted basis, down 7.2 per cent compared to December, according to Statistics New Zealand (SNZ).

Manukau City gained 8600 new residents and 2000 new businesses in 2004.

High interest rates for deposits are the new battleground for Australian banks, and in New Zealand the skirmishing is moving to the big players, too.

Listed landlord Kiwi Income Property Trust will make a full takeover attempt on the $500 million Capital Properties via a share-unit swap, an analyst predicts .

When former Hamilton nurse Esme Carbon bought a small beach house at Mt Maunganui for 4600 in 1964, her father rebuked her for buying such a place "in the back of beyond".

The future of a new $70 million apartment block on a prominent Wellington site is in doubt, in spite of the Environment Court clearing the way.