A mortgage adviser has backed calls from the Property Institute of New Zealand for first home buyers to be exempt from loan-to-value restrictions. On Monday, the group which represented property valuers and commercial property managers said the restrictions had been a devastating failure which allowed property investors to snap up homes which families might have otherwise bought. Statistics New Zealand figures released last week showed nearly 80 per cent of renters in New Zealand lacked the resources for a home deposit. Under Reserve Bank rules, home buyers required a 20 per cent deposit. Mortgage Express chief executive Sarah Johnston said she agreed with a move to exempt first home buyers from the restrictions. Auckland was approaching a point whereby people would have to be subsidised to live there, she said. "I'm totally concerned that we are just seeing the rich get richer. "We're not seeing people in Auckland being able to get on the ladder at all, and yet that's where the work is." The Reserve Bank released data on Monday which said lending to property investors in Auckland had fallen 18 per cent last month, after new lending restrictions were introduced the month before. These included a requirement no more than 5 per cent of bank lending go to residential property investors with less than 40 per cent equity, and a measure to force banks to sharply restrict their loans to owner-occupiers with less than a 20 per cent deposit. The Reserve Bank data said lending to owner-occupiers in Auckland also fell last month, to $1.86 billion from 1.88b. Total lending across the country fell 3 per cent, to $6.11b. Johnston said there needed to be a fundamental look at how first home buyers and what she called second chancers - someone who had owned a home but for whatever reason did not anymore - could get into the property market. Earlier this year, changes were made to the HomeStart Grant scheme which increased the caps for a house to $650,000 in Auckland, and $550,000 in the rest of the country. Income caps were also increased from $80,000 to $85,000 for a single person and from $120,000 to $130,000 for a couple. The changes would also be applied to the Welcome Home Loans, which enabled first home buyers to buy with a 10 per cent deposit while being exempt from LVR ratio limits. Johnston said these changes were unfair on professionals who had studied, got a big student loan, but after paying it off were not in a position to buy because their income was above the cap. She said incomes should be tested at the beginning to mitigate concerns around any possible increase to interest rates. But most people would not default on their own home, she said, with there being far more risk in giving a loan for cars or other cheaper assets. "Let them have their first home, don't means test them on income. "They will do everything and anything they can (to meet mortgage payments), what's the risk?"

Calls from tax expert John Shewan to radically expand the disclosure rules on foreign trusts will be implemented, Prime Minister John Key says. In his report, released on Monday, Shewan said the current rules were inadequate and "not fit for purpose" to preserve New Zealand's reputation as a country that co-operates with others to counter "money laundering and aggressive tax practices".

The mythical unicorn is a creature of elf-enchanted forests. It's also the term used in the credit scoring industry for a person with an unfeasibly high credit score. This week saw the launch of Creditsimple.co.nz which provides free instant access to your credit score, which places you on a scale of 0-1000.

The heat map shows where Auckland first-home buyers have been investing most over the last two years. The popularity of Ponsonby/Grey Lynn, Epsom, Remuera and Ellerslie showed the suburban dream wasn't for everyone, Myvalocity spokeswman Charlene White said.

Wellington's soaring property market, which saw house prices rise by $7000 in a single month, is being described as crazier than the 2007 boom. While the record-high prices and unprecedented low housing stock can be read as good new for sellers, those wanting to climb aboard the property train are getting left further back in the dust.

The number of new houses up for sale in Auckland has fallen by a "significant" amount as high prices and low stock fuel a seller's market. Auckland's housing stock for May fell 9.2 per cent compared to the same time last year, data from Realestate.co.nz showed. Property commentator Olly Newland said it was a significant number for Auckland because of how tight the market already was."Anything that goes up for sale today in Auckland, even leaky places, it's a guaranteed sale," he said.

A stark warning has been delivered about the Auckland property market – the price rises of the past four years could be just the start. BNZ chief economist Tony Alexander said there were a number of things that were putting pressure on Auckland's house prices, and showing no sign of letting up.

The NZX 50 closed down 0.5 per cent on Tuesday.

As a property investor you've probably heard of LVR. LVR is an acronym that stands for Loan to Value Ratio and is the proportion of money you borrow compared to the value of the property. It is expressed as a percentage. LVR is used by lenders to help assess the risk factor of borrowers before deciding whether to approve a loan. Keep reading to learn everything you need to know about LVR.

If this was 1966, Auckland couple Tom Gray and Nicola Reid would most likely be married and live in their own home. It would have cost them about three or four times Tom's annual income, Nicola would have had her first child, and according to the fertility rate of the time, they'd go on to have about three kids. The 26-year-old would almost certainly be a stay-at-home mum — at least while the children were young, and the couple's mortgage would be paid off well before Tom's retirement.