The average asking price for apartments and units in Auckland has crossed the half-million dollar mark, according to Trade Me Property figures. Trade Me's Property Price Index for May shows the door is continuing to close on buyers trying to get their foot on the property ladder with less than $500,000 to spend. Trade Me property boss Nigel Jeffries said Auckland continued to surge and was yet to show signs of slowing down.

Banking bosses are considering a plan to tie home loans to buyers' incomes in a move that could shut the young and the poor out of the house market. Concerns have been mounting over the skyrocketing Auckland property market, with a decision to lower interest rates on Thursday adding more fuel to the fire.

The Reserve Bank expects house prices will rise at a slower pace in coming years as increased construction helps ease supply constraints, and measures to curb property investors take some of the heat out of the Auckland property market. The bank anticipates measures to impose lending restrictions on property investment loans and more rigorous taxation of speculative investment will suppress house price inflation in the first year of their implementation.

New Zealand banks are moving quickly to lower mortgage lending rates after the Reserve Bank of New Zealand cut its official interest rates. Kiwibank, ASB and ANZ have dropped mortgage rates after the Reserve Bank of New Zealand cut the Official Cash Rate (OCR) to 3.25 per cent from 3.5 per cent on Thursday. Kiwibank has reduced its variable and revolving rates from 6.65 per cent per annum to 6.40 per cent immediately for new customers and in two weeks for existing.

The Reserve Bank of New Zealand has cut the official cash rate by 25 basis points and is signalling more cuts could be on the way. Governor Graeme Wheeler cut the interest rate to 3.25 per cent - the first reduction in interest rates since January 2011.

KiwiSaver has converted us into a nation of bank-owners. Not only do the big KiwiSaver balanced and growth funds hold chunks of local bank shares, they also hold chunks of the listed global banks too.

New Zealand residential property values have increased at their fastest annual pace in over a year, as Auckland housing prices clock the biggest gain in over a decade, fuelled by record migration and low interest rates. National property values rose nine per cent in the 12 months ended May 31, the fastest pace in 15 months and accelerating from 8.3 per cent in April, according to state-owned value Quotable Value.

The country's second-biggest listed property investor Goodman Property Trust has ratcheted up development plans with four new industrial projects in Auckland worth $NZ45.8 million ($A42.33 million).

The Reserve Bank claims its crackdown on property investors will slow Auckland house price growth by 2 to 4 percentage points during the first year of the new regime. On Wednesday the central bank published a consultation paper exploring the issues and impacts of its new rules. The beefed-up restrictions, which come into force in October, will require investors in Auckland to hold a 30 per cent deposit.

An expected interest rate cut by the Reserve Bank and a strengthening United States economy saw the New Zealand dollar fall near five-year low against the US dollar over the long weekend. The kiwi was trading at US71.46c late on Friday afternoon but was sitting at US70.95c on Tuesday morning. It closed the day at US71.15c