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22 Dec 2010: The New Zealand real estate market finally started to see some increased action last month according to our latest figures. In November Harcourts recorded a good increase in written sales when compared with October as the highly anticipated Spring lift in activity finally occurred, however the volume was still behind the same month in 2009. In addition our figures show that in November a lot of people obviously decided that the time was right to sell, and as a result we saw a significant increase in new listings across the country when compared to October. read more >>

Mortgagee sales beginning to ease off, says expert

20 Dec 2010: Mortgagee sales in September remained on a par with August but continued a trend of falling forced sales, data shows. read more >>

Opinion: What the RBNZ's MPS means for fixed and floating mortgage rates

16 Dec 2010: Borrowers are increasingly moving to floating rates. The average time to reprice a mortgage is now 8 months, down from 20 months at the height of the housing boom. The Reserve Bank's Monetary Policy Statement last Thursday seemed on the face of it to be a non-event. The central bank left the Official Cash Rate on hold and reiterated its downbeat outlook for the New Zealand economy. But it was the Reserve Bank's decision to further lower its forecast track for the 90 day bill rate that really caught the eye. This caps an extraordinary year of forecast changes for the bank. read more >>

Late 'spring surge' lifts property market

14 Dec 2010: A late spring surge in the residential property market has lifted the number of house sales back above 5000 and the national median price up to $360,000, according the Real Estate Institute of New Zealand (REINZ). But the increase in sales has come off a record low base and is less than the 6056 sales recorded during the same period last year. read more >>

Sales lowest in years

13 Dec 2010: Auckland is patchy, and elsewhere it's worse. Everywhere, demand is measly in a buyers' market. Bruce Morris reports. read more >>

QV property stats out - is the slump over?

7 Dec 2010: New Zealand property values are beginning to stabilise, but are still 5.6 per cent below the market peak in 2007. read more >>

High value house sales raise average for Auckland

6 Dec 2010: A lift in sales of high value properties helped push the average sale price for Auckland residential property to its highest in nearly three years, says real estate company Barfoot & Thompson. read more >>

Coastal properties return to 2003 price levels

4 Dec 2010: Coastal property prices have collapsed, sending the value of "the bach" back to 2003 levels in many areas, with no signs of a bottoming out. read more >>

Housing market 'switched on' in late Nov

3 Dec 2010: First National sees housing market recovery light 'switched on' in second half of November as lending criteria loosens read more >>

Auckland houses prices climb on high-end sales

3 Dec 2010: Auckland house prices rose 5.7 per cent last month as a quarter of home sales in the country's biggest city were valued at more than $750,000. The average sale price in Auckland was $53,743 in November, up from $524,000 in October and $550,217 a month earlier, according to Barfoot & Thompson, the city's biggest real estate agent. read more >>

Aucklanders optimistic on house prices

2 Dec 2010: House price expectations are the highest in Auckland, according to the latest ASB NZ Housing Confidence Survey, which finds that housing confidence has fallen slightly in the past three months. read more >>

Survey finds investors cautious

1 Dec 2010: New Zealand property investors are being more conservative currently but are optimistic about the future a survey has found. Property investors are taking a more conservative approach given the current real estate market and recent taxation changes and are looking to reduce debt, improve cashflow and boost savings according to the latest annual ANZ/New Zealand Property Investors Federation survey. read more >>

Real Estate activity up but house glut remains

1 Dec 2010: New real estate stats show what the industry is calling "a late, but by no means insignificant rise" in market activity. A monthly report prepared by industry website realestate.co.nz shows a "strong rise in new listings coming onto the market" in November - up 7.3 per cent to 12,932. read more >>

Hope for next year despite consents fall

1 Dec 2010: Building consent numbers fell further in October, but there is some hope among economists that the industry will look up next year. read more >>