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Building costs have shot up by a whopping 40% over the last 3-4 years, and when you throw in sky-high interest rates and hurdles from the Resource Management Act, developers and home buyers alike are dealing with a real headache.

Many Kiwi who had been holding off selling their properties are now putting them up for sale. But with plenty of existing properties entering the market, the outlook has just darkened further for developers of multi-unit complexes.

Word on the street is that house prices have finally hit "sustainable" levels, after 18 months of significant falls. But are they really "about right"? Chief Squirrel, David Cunningham, digs into the data to tell us whether house prices really are where they need to be.

Stories of builder collapses alongside high financing costs have made people step back from signing up for a new property. Presales for developers have shrunk and many projects are now being put on hold.

With sentiment across New Zealand's residential building sector at a new low right now, what are the implications for our construction sector, and the wider economy?

Development companies have been recently finding that client enquiries are falling away. People can see prices falling so will naturally feel the longer they wait perhaps the cheaper the construction cost will be.

New builds can be a great option for investors and first home buyers alike - and if you’re considering buying off plan, there are a few things to keep in mind to help you buy well.

Growing house construction is a substantial boom for the economy through extra business for materials manufacturers and distributors, architects, inspectors and so on.

Earlier this year we launched our P2P Home Loans and Business Property Loans that give investors access to residential first mortgage investments with returns of up to 5% p.a. As interest rates have fallen, investors are looking for better returns.

As New Zealand’s leading mortgage broker, Squirrel has engineered a new financial product called Squirrel HomeBuild that makes building a new home simpler, and without the traditional hassles associated with building.