Key promises more affordable homes

National has moved to claim housing affordability as one of its key election planks.
30-12-1899 more >>

No-deposit loans a risk to parents

No-deposit mortgages enter the banking mainstream this weekend - but they could tie struggling first home buyers to their parents for life.
30-12-1899 more >>

Coalition strategy on housing good; Progressive wants more

The coalition government's housing strategy of initiatives, released today, contains excellent steps to help Kiwis into their first homes and the Progressive Party is campaigning in this year's election to do even more for low income families, says MP Matt Robson.
30-12-1899 more >>

Landlords urged to raise game

Demand for rental housing is projected to soar over the next decade, far outstripping the ability of typical New Zealand landlords to offer suitable properties to tenants.
30-12-1899 more >>

More short-term rate falls

The momentum of fixed rate cuts slowed last week, then picked up for the beginning of this week, with a plethora of one-year rate decreases emerging for the first time in ages.
30-12-1899 more >>

Heatley wrings hands over poor folk

National Party housing spokesman Phil Heatley is urging Labour not to push up rents for struggling families renting in the private sector.
30-12-1899 more >>

Debate continues over long-term fixing

Lenders have started to push up the cost of home loans following the increase in the official cash rate from 7.25% to 7. 5% last Thursday.
30-12-1899 more >>

Home loan rates look to head higher

All the excitement last week centred on the National Bank cutting some of its rates which was portrayed as possibly the start of another price war.
30-12-1899 more >>

More help for first-home buyers

A Labour government will provide more help for first home buyers in a third term, Housing Minister Steve Maharey announced today.
30-12-1899 more >>

Lenders continue to ease rates

The Reserve Bank of New Zealand unsurprisingly left the official cash rate unchanged last week, but lenders are doing the easing for it by continuing to cut fixed rates amid the heat of competition.
30-12-1899 more >>

Floating rates crack 10%

Floating rate mortgages have, as predicted, broken the 10% barrier following the latest rise in the Official Cash Rate (OCR) to 7.75%.
30-12-1899 more >>

High rise investments continue to fall to earth

Anne Gibson reports that an analysis of the poor financial performance of Auckland's apartment market showed some units had had a quarter of their value wiped out.
30-12-1899 more >>

Leave landlords alone

The landlords' national body wants require all landlords to be trained, registered and certified.
30-12-1899 more >>

Kiwi Dream Remains Just That

New Zealand First is concerned that many New Zealanders will never be able to attain the Kiwi dream of home ownership, or even worse, will over-extend themselves by taking up questionable offers of finance by banks.
30-12-1899 more >>

State houses' $100,000 renovation bills 'excessive'

The Government has spent an average of more than $100,000 a house to convert three-bedroom state houses into four-bedroom units.
30-12-1899 more >>

Political Regulatory Update March 2007

The IRD has issued a discussion document entitled 'Residential rental properties - depreciation of items of depreciable property'
30-12-1899 more >>

Three big banks to cut commissions

Mortgage brokers are facing cuts of up to 30% in commission paid by some banks from October. The cuts are expected to result in widespread changes in the industry, encouraging diversification and mergers between groups.
30-12-1899 more >>

President’s Report – Feb/March 2005

President Craig Paddon's report to the Executive and Associations.
30-12-1899 more >>

Top land for state tenants

Tenants of a million-dollar state house with sweeping sea views across Auckland Harbour are paying just $75 a week rent.
30-12-1899 more >>

OCR up and more rises possible

As expected, Reserve Bank governor Alan Bollard raised interest rates and waved a big stick at 'the relentless housing market' and household spending, threatening further rate hikes if they don't calm down.
30-12-1899 more >>

New round of rate rises

This week's inflation numbers have kicked off a new round home loan rate rises.
30-12-1899 more >>

One bank war

Last week had with some good news for borrowers with Kiwibank dropping some of its fixed rate home loans in an effort to capture some of the refinance business in the market.
30-12-1899 more >>

Bollard to Government: watch your step

Nobody could fail to notice the underlying threat to Treasury which was inherent in Alan Bollard's Official Cash Rate (OCR) announcement today
30-12-1899 more >>

If it ain’t broke, why fix it?

Last week Michael Littlewood, a member of the Task Force on Private Provision for Retirement, raised five fallacies in the superannuation debate, saying it is powered by `alarmist nonsense' and `dodgy data.' In the final of his two-part series, he analyses home ownership and what he describes as the biggest fallacy of all - that Kiwis don't know what's good for them.
30-12-1899 more >>

Corporation takes notice of tenant's objections

Housing New Zealand apologised to a tenant after an election hoarding was taken from a property it owns in the Dunedin suburb of Brockville.
30-12-1899 more >>