Many New Zealanders are banking on the price rises seen over recent years continuing into the future - and that's prompted a warning. BNZ has released new research that shows 62 per cent of Kiwis think house prices in their area are now too high.

Average house prices around the country keep rising, with houses in the Waikato increasing in price by more than $100,000 in one year. According to data from Trade Me, the national November average asking price for properties advertised on the website was $624,850, up 9.8 per cent on the same time last year.

In the last week or two there has been a wall of negative noise about the New Zealand residential property market. The market has certainly paused and there are some signs there could be the start of a house price slump. It would depend on the size of any fall, but there is a significant threat to the economy posed by a house price slump. A sizeable fall would hit consumer confidence, hurt home-owners and investors who are highly geared and possibly affect bank lending.

The Retirement Commissioner has released recommendations to beef up KiwiSaver, and has used Barbie, Ken and superhero doll stop-motion video clips to do it. The changes include increasing the minimum employee and employer contributions from three per cent to four per cent, and allowing people to save six per cent or ten per cent of their salary, if they choose.

The future shape of Wellington's Shelly Bay revamp is becoming clearer, with new plans hinting at more than 350 homes, a boutique hotel, a brewery, a rest home and a ferry service. But Wellingtonians, who own a large chunk of Shelly Bay, will not get a say on whether resource consent for the $500 million development on the Miramar Peninsula site should get the final tick.

Prime Minister John Key has revealed a $1 billion infrastructure spend-up to speed up the construction of tens of thousands of new homes. Councils in Auckland, Christchurch, Queenstown, Tauranga and Hamilton will be able to use the pool of loans for roads and water infrastructure in new housing areas.

Three-hundred new homes will be built on Auckland's Point England Reserve to help address the city's housing crisis. Housing Minister Nick Smith on Tuesday said 12 hectares would be developed into affordable and social housing properties in partnership with the Tamaki Redevelopment Company.

There are few things scarier than a "housing bubble". But what actually is it? And how would we know if we were in one? Susan Edmunds reports as part of Stuff's 'Blowing Bubbles' series.

Queenstown properties have cracked the million dollar mark for average values, putting them on par with Auckland. But the latest QV property values for November show that the heat is starting to come out of the flourishing Wellington property market and other markets ahead of Christmas.

Aiesha Cunningham has been looking for a rental property for more than a year, without any luck. The mother-of-two is a full-time student and wants to find a home near her kids' school in Manurewa.