UPDATE: New Zealand Property Investors Federation (NZPIF) president Andrew King plans urgent talks with Government Ministers to get answers about the proposed merger of the Department of Building and Housing (DBH).

Plans to fold the Department of Building and Housing (DBH) into a new Super Ministry "may disadvantage everyone in the rental industry," claim the Property Investors Federation (NZPIF).

Property investors are surprised and concerned about the implications of the Department of Building and Housing being merged with the ministries of Labour, Economic Development and Science and Innovation.

Property prices have continued to rise nationwide and Auckland values are 2.3% above the previous market peak, according to the QV index for February.

February saw an almost 40% rise in the number of house sales from a year earlier, the best February sales numbers since 2008.

Mortgagee sales disputes are at record levels and remain the largest single cause of complaint to the Banking Ombudsman.

The REINZ Regional Report reveals just two regions failed to record double-digit sales growth on last year.

Residential building work and the Canterbury reconstruction helped building activity increase 2.9% in the December quarter from the previous quarter's decade-low.

Auckland saw the largest number of house sales in the February month for five years but listings remain low and price rises modest, according to Barfoot & Thompson.

New property listings in February were up 58% from January and the national average asking price hit $426,575 - a 3% rise on the same time last year, according to Realestate.co.nz.

The number of new home approvals rose in January 2012 compared to the year earlier, with apartments accounting for almost half of the increase.

January 2012 saw a 25.2% rise in house sales making it the best January for sales volumes since 2008, according to the Real Estate Institute of New Zealand (REINZ).

Many regions record double-digit sales growth in January with Waikato/Bay of Plenty seeing 35% more sales than this time last year.

Nationwide residential property values have continued to rise with Auckland leading the charge, according to the latest QV monthly index.

More property investors are set to return to Auckland and will eventually branch out to other centres, according to BNZ economist Tony Alexander.

The housing market recovery is likely to be underpinned by a turn-around in net migration from the second half of this year and into next.