Latest fromMortgages

Walt Glazer: Time to prick the housing bubble
Walt Glazer asks whether Auckland should become the Hong Kong of the South Pacific or remain a Kiwi oasis of security for the future.

Auckland housing hit by listings drought
Auckland homeowners are finding themselves unable to sell, because they can't find another place to buy due to a listings drought.

First-home buyers beat deposit rule
First-home buyers struggling to get on the property ladder are turning to new builds, which fall outside the high loan-to-value-ratio restrictions.

Bank mortgage war brewing
Banks are tipped to drop interest rates to new lows as competition to attract house hunters and homeowners escalates into an all-out mortgage war.

Hope amid housing affordability gloom
The Reserve Bank's indication that its next interest rate move could be down is expected to reinforce a decline in fixed mortgage rates.

5-year rate new front in bank mortgage war
More interest rates have been cut following a week of competition by the country's biggest banks to attract house hunters and mortgage holders.

Mortgage wars heat up as rates are cut
Three more banks have cut interest rates in a fight to attract customers. But are some customers being unfairly stung by refinancing fees?

At the landlord's mercy, for life
A life-time of renting is becoming a reality for many New Zealanders, a survey shows, as the need for large deposits and big mortgages block their way to home ownership.

Valuation jump paying for do up's
Auckland homeowners made wealthy by their latest Auckland Council valuations are borrowing to do up their houses.

Home loans hit $4.9b
New residential mortgage lending hit $4.9 billion last month, its highest level since last March and a 7.2 per cent increase on October last year, according to the Reserve Bank.

Chance for cheaper mortgages
Thousands of homeowners are paying higher interest rates on their mortgages than they need to - but many may not realise it.

Pero stops firm from acting against him
Mike Pero has successfully stopped a major law firm acting in a court case brought against him by the mortgage business.

Diana Clement: Mortgage options available to get up ladder
Getting a mortgage is much harder than it was before the global financial crisis. No longer will banks lend willy-nilly.

Generous banks lure in clients
Banks are offering cash, TVs and furniture vouchers to entice customers into taking out home loans - but experts warn consumers not to be taken in.

Why the poor pay sky-high interest rates
An entire industry has grown around handing low-income earners a lifeline to the material rewards of middle-class life, but it comes at a hidden price.

Auckland CVs jump by almost third
Auckland Council will tomorrow release new valuations for more than 220 suburbs across the region for three-yearly review of CVs.

Loan rate horrified TV star
Canadian migrant Genevieve Westcott remembers the 20.5 per cent mortgage rates of the 1980s.

NZ mortgage rates: How we compare with rest of the world
New Zealanders are paying some of the highest interest rates in the OECD, our house buyers saddled with the punitive prices due to the regime attempting to stop runaway inflation.

Gen Y locked out of homes
A large part of Generation Y might have to wait until they receive an inheritance before they can buy a house, a property commentator says.

Loan-rule shift spurs boom in new homes
An increasing number of Aucklanders are looking at getting 80 per cent-plus mortgages to build homes in the south and west.

Rise of the 30-year home loans
Thousands of Kiwis desperate to get on the property ladder are signing up to 30-year mortgages - but many are saddling themselves with a lifetime of debt.

Increasing payments cuts years off
David Hamilton and his fiancee Lyna Pen are in their 20s but hope to be mortgage-free within 10 years.

Million-dollar US home loans surge
Banks are handing out mortgages of as much as $10 million to the wealthy in record numbers while first-time homebuyers struggle to get loans.