The New Zealand government has announced a 10th expansion to its list of fast-tracked Auckland building sites as it tries bump up housing supply in the city. Housing Minister Nick Smith on Thursday announced 36 new areas had been added to list of Special Housing Area where Auckland Council is speeding up consents to help create more homes amid massive demand.

Rapid growth of the workforce, boosted by new migrants, women, and older workers, has helped create strong economic growth over the past four years without driving up inflation, the Reserve Bank says. “Recent low out turns in consumer price inflation can be mostly explained by falls in commodity prices and the high New Zealand dollar, but the higher productive capacity of the economy from rapid growth in the labour force also explains some of the weakness in inflation,” Reserve Bank Deputy Governor Geoff Bascand said in a speech today at Otago University, in Dunedin.

New Zealand property value growth continued to slow in March, although the trend may be coming to an end, according to state-owned valuer QV. The average value of a New Zealand home rose at an 11.4 per cent annual rate in March to $NZ559,492 ($A504,683), slowing from February's 11.6 per cent pace and January's 12.6 per cent rate, QV said.

The median sale price for a house in Auckland rose 12 per cent last month from a year earlier as both sales volumes and new listings fell, according to the city's largest realtor. The median price rose to $NZ798,000 ($A717,400) from $NZ711,000 ($A639,187) in March 2015 and was up 8.1 per cent from February, Barfoot & Thompson said.

Planning to put your house on the market soon? Real estate experts say there are a number of common mistakes vendors make that can cost them serious money and slow the sale process significantly.

New Zealand residential building consents climbed 11 per cent in February, led by increased construction intentions in Auckland as the country's biggest city tries to house a swelling population.

If you have moved out of a rental property recently, did you reclaim your bond? The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) has revealed about $2 million is left in unclaimed bonds each year.

The start of the new year has meant a rent rise for tenants around the country. The latest Trade Me Property Rental Index shows the national median asking rent increased from $420 to $435 between December and January, after very little change through 2015.

Falling interest rates: Good news for borrowers but not so good for anyone who is relying on money in the bank. After the Reserve Bank's surprise move to cut the official cash rate to 2.25 per cent last week, banks were criticised for being slow to pass on the reduction to home loan customers.

New Zealanders are back to asking for more money when selling their homes after a summer slump in the housing market, according to new data from Trade Me. The average asking price for homes on the online auction website rose 1.6 per cent in February, and nine per cent for the 12 months previous, bringing the national average asking price up to $NZ550,600 ($A488,000).