Escalating property prices are putting the squeeze on Marlborough's rental market and making it a struggle for many families to find affordable housing.

Boom . . . and then bust. Everyone is talking up the property market. But how long will the good times last?

Andrew Borrett, the first person in New Zealand to be jailed for illegally clearing bush and doing earthworks on his property, is not the only one to break the rules in his area.

Demand for investment property in New Zealand has never been greater and the signs are that with current immigration levels and many ex-pat kiwis returning home or purchasing from abroad, the demand will continue. With current annual yield of between 7-11% and capital gain as high as 13% for residential property many kiwis are switching from managed funds to property as their primary retirement vehicle.

A proposed law change that would restrict home-owners' right to work on their houses without supervision could yet be altered.

A mortgage broker who said he shopped around for the best deal for clients - but didn't - has been fined $9,000.

Hundreds of investors will be forced to pay Inland Revenue half a billion dollars in tax and penalties after a landmark court judgement.

The largest shopping mall in New Zealand will be built at Albany as billionaire Malaysian and Australian interests target Auckland's burgeoning northern outskirts.

Real estate agents will not be permitted to do conveyancing under the Lawyers and Conveyancers Bill currently before a parliamentary select committee, despite widespread misconceptions to the contrary.

A big chunk of air space is up for sale in Newmarket shopping centre over the railway lines between Noel Leeming and 88 Broadway.

Q. I have engaged a builder to construct a residential investment property. It is nearing completion and disputes are starting to arise over extras. The builder says if I don't pay his claims he will caveat my land title. Can he do this?

A strong economy is leaving Reserve Bank governor Alan Bollard little choice but to raise interest rates on December 4, some economists say.

We have been swamped with good economic news this week highlighted by the fall in the unemployment rate to 4.4 percent -- a level last seen in 1987.

Aucklanders and overseas buyers are keeping Whangarei's property market buoyant according to local real estate companies.

A man evicted from his home went berserk at the office of a property management firm, smashing windows and a parked car with an iron bar.

New Zealand now has the second-lowest unemployment rate in the Western world, after Switzerland, but the price may be higher interest rates next month.