Annual house price inflation has reached the highest level seen since late 2007, ANZ says in its latest Property Focus report.

Aucklanders are looking south of the city for cheaper properties and a more relaxed lifestyle, the Real Estate Institute says.

There is no let-up in sight for Canterbury’s housing shortage, according to ASB’s latest Cantometer report.

Some of the strongest year-on-year sales price growth in Auckland last month was seen in the west, according to Crockers’ latest research.

National’s new housing minister is looking into the possibility of a “warrant of fitness” for rental properties.

Aucklanders can’t afford to wait three years for the city’s unitary plan to be ratified, the Employers and Manufacturers Association says.

New Zealand gained more new residents than it lost last month, new data shows - and it's likely to provide more fuel for the housing market.

New Zealand should think about following Britain’s lead and introducing shared equity loans for new homes, commentator Olly Newland says.

Landlords holding on to properties with big sections may be able to get their money’s worth out of them under proposed changes in the draft Auckland plan, says the New Zealand Property Investors Federation.

The International Monetary Fund has sounded a warning on the possibility of a housing bubble destabilising the Kiwi economy.

Housing construction would need to double in Auckland over the next few years to keep up with demand but the construction industry is already keeping pace with growth in most parts of the country, Westpac’s economists say.

Lower mortgage rates could be on the horizon after yesterday’s official cash rate announcement and monetary policy statement, one economist says.

Seven million-dollar apartments in the Ocean Point Beach Residences, Orewa, have sold off the plans.

The Reserve Bank has left the official cash rate unchanged at 2.5% and expects it to stay that way at least until the end of the year.

No matter how often the argument against a Capital Gains Tax is put forward, the subject is still popular among those who, it seems, fail to realise that implementing such a tax will solve nothing. The suggestion comes up again and again, and it has almost become an article of faith for ‘the left’ some of whom seem to imbue a Capital Gains Tax (CGT) with mythic powers to right all social wrongs.

At most, 5.6% of New Zealand house sales go to foreign buyers who do not plan to live in this country, BNZ chief economist Tony Alexander says.