The gap between what New Zealanders pay for a house and the amount we earn is the widest on the planet according to the Fitch ratings agency.
Its latest Global Housing and Mortgage Outlook report appears to confirm what many people have thought, and the Property Council is among those voicing concern about one of the causes of high property prices -- a shortage of supply.
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Its chief executive Connal Townsend says: "We have a planning system in crisis with excessive restrictions on development which are hampering delivery efforts."
It seems red tape is hindering the speedy construction of much needed homes in Auckland and elsewhere. Others might counter that some land bankers are sitting tight, watching their investment grow in value by doing nothing.
It's not all bad news though. The rampant rise of Auckland house prices has slowed -- going up just 0.16 per cent between November and December, according to property data firm CoreLogic.
Mix in sales price data from October and the firm's Jonno Ingerson says home price inflation has the "appearance of a genuine slowing rather than a blip".
He says there will be no property crash, adding that any drop in values is likely to be "shallow and short-lived". He is expecting to see a more buoyant market outside Auckland this year with values increasing slightly.
In a fix
Mortgage hunters have some reasonably good fixed interest rate deals to choose from with the BNZ offering 4.49 per cent for three years. Its two-year deal of 4.39 per cent is also worth considering.
However, the rates are a far cry from the exceptional 3.99 per cent offered last year by SBS -- well done if you snapped that up.
For those who want to lock in a rate for seven years, BNZ is offering 5.9 per cent. And if you have a reliable crystal ball, TSB's 5.75 per cent for 10 years might seem attractive.
Meanwhile, a minority of industry commentators expect to see fixed rates below 4 per cent by the year end.
Rate decision
The Reserve Bank's Graeme Wheeler will make his next OCR announcement on January 28. While some economists expect him to lower the OCR from 2.5 to 2 per cent this year, it is not expected he will announce any changes this quarter. However, global economic storm clouds and low inflation might force his hand sooner than predicted.
Median prices
Auckland's median price for a home is $770,000 according to the Real Estate Institute's figures for December. The organisation says median values in the Super City rose by $92,000 in a year, and is up $5000 compared to November.
It puts the national median price at $465,000, up 15 per cent on a year ago. But if Auckland is removed from the equation, the figure drops to $379,000.