Investors are looking at towns other than Auckland for property bargains, writes Susan Edmunds. Inflated house prices and stricter lending rules are prompting Auckland property investors to look outside the city for their next purchases.

Love or hate our "bright" new $5 and $10 banknotes launched today, they are a sign that we are still in love with cash. Predictions of New Zealand becoming a cashless society have proven ill-founded, and the launch of the new notes, which will be followed by new $20, $50 and $100 denominations next year, shows it is still worth investing in modern, hard-to-forge bills.

Housing affordability is improving, a new Massey University report shows, but its authors do not expect that to last. The latest Massey University Home Affordability Report shows some improvement in affordability figures over the past three months, due mainly to falling mortgage rates and static house prices. "Even Auckland falls in line with this trend – affordability in our largest city has improved by 4.9 per cent since our last report in June," Massey University senior property lecturer Susan Flint-Hartle said. "Having said that, affordability in Auckland has still decreased by 16.6 per cent over the past 12 months." The report, which covers the period from June to August, shows home affordability across New Zealand improved by 2.3 per cent over the quarter, but the national index still shows a year-on-year decline of 6.7 per cent. "While affordability trends show some improvement in this report, the relative levels of affordability across the country haven't really changed much. You must remember that these small improvements are coming off the back of historic levels of unaffordability," Flint-Hartle said. She did not expect affordability to continue to improve. "It's a bit of a lull caused mainly by lower interest rates. That makes people think their monthly payments are less and they can afford more. It initially has the effect of improving affordability but if it continues it is likely to draw more people into the market which stimulates demand. It's a bit of a double-edged sword." Looming tax changes, which will mean any investor who buys and sells within two years will pay a capital gains tax, could delay further house price rises, she said. Auckland remains 52 per cent "less affordable" than the national average – down slightly from 56 per cent last quarter, but still close to that historic high. Regional movements in affordability have largely been driven by house prices. Central Otago Lakes, Southland, Manawatu/Wanganui, Northland and Taranaki, which experienced the largest improvements in affordability, also had the largest falls in house prices. "The only region not to show some improvement over the past three months was Nelson/Marlborough, where house prices increased by the largest margin," Flint-Hartle said. Flint-Hartle said young borrowers who had taken out large mortgages to get into the market would feel the squeeze once interest rates started to rise again. But she said that was likely still some time off and many had fixed their loans over long terms to guard against it.

Banks are offering interest rates available below 5 per cent across most loan terms. For six-month terms, ASB and BNZ have the best rate of the major banks, at 4.99 per cent. Fix for a year and you can get 4.35 per cent from ASB and BNZ.

The Government has invited developers to express interest in building houses on Crown land in Auckland. Building and Housing Minister Nick Smith said it was interested in hearing from private developers that had the resources to build a minumum of 100 new homes, on top of any work they were already carrying out.

Here is the lasted BNZ new zealand market outlook, which includes: Migration inflows remain stellar putting upward pressure on housing and unemployment While providing a safety net for the softening economy Fonterra result to confirm improving outlook? As past price pressure batters the trade balance

If you think getting into your first home means your property problems are over, it might be time to think again. Auckland's house prices have risen 66 per cent over the past five years, according to Quotable Value's (QV's) price index. That has meant first-home buyers must look further afield for affordable properties, or consider apartments and units.

For many people, it would not be summer without a few days spent lounging around in a house by the beach. Property market commentators say homeowners with newfound equity in their properties are turning their attention to coastal areas, where many prices are still well below their previous peak. Nick Goodall, senior research analyst at Corelogic, said his firm was starting to see more requests for valuations in areas such as Thames/Coromandel, Tauranga, Rotorua and Taupo.

Finance Minister Bill English's comments about a possible Auckland house price crash are a "last throw of the dice" to address Government inaction on housing, the Labour Party says. Experts said English's concerns were unlikely to spook buyers or sellers.

The Queenstown Lakes District Council has announced plans to help fast track development to deal with a growing housing crisis. As part of a 10-year review of the District Plan, the council will be cutting red tape to make it easier and cheaper for development and removing the need for resource consents in some areas. Changes include increasing building heights, creating business mixed use zones to allow for residential apartment blocks up to six storeys high, creating medium density zones and introducing a residential flat programme.