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Each week the NZ Herald and Newstalk ZB's Cooking the Books podcast tackles a different money problem. Today, it's what's changed in housing, and what it means for you. Hosted by Frances Cook.

This year has been a huge one for changes to every New Zealander's favourite investment: property.

Whether you're buying it to live in, or buying it as a rental investment, almost every Kiwi wants to buy a house and sees it as a path to wealth and security.

So the changes we've seen this year could well have made your head spin.

For those keeping track, we've seen: the Government scrap a proposed capital gains tax, and the Prime Minister promise she'll never bring one in; the loss of tax breaks for investment properties; KiwiBuild has floundered and is getting a reset; increasing focus on healthy homes standards becoming a legal standard; and our Official Cash Rate was cut twice, resulting in some of the cheapest mortgages in decades.

That really is a lot.

So with the OneRoof property report out this week, I was ready to look at it in interest to see where all this had left us.

The best part is, the OneRoof team has not only looked at where we are now, but also the past couple of decades to see how we got here.

For the latest Cooking the Books I talked to OneRoof editor Owen Vaughan and Valocity's James Wilson.

We talked about where the housing market is now, how we got here over the past 20 years, and what to expect over the next year and beyond.

If you have a question about this podcast, or question you'd like answered in the next one, come and talk to me about it. I'm on Facebook here https://www.facebook.com/FrancesCookJournalist/ Instagram here https://www.instagram.com/francescooknz/ and Twitter here https://twitter.com/FrancesCook

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Each week the NZ Herald and Newstalk ZB's Cooking The Books podcast tackles a different money problem. Today, it's the start of a partnership with OneRoof to walk you through the steps of buying a house. Episode one is rent vs buy. Hosted by Frances Cook.

Deciding you want to own your first home is a huge decision.

It has a big impact, not only on your finances but also your lifestyle.

So before you even start on the realities of pulling together a deposit or looking at houses, you need to figure out if this is the right time for you.

Do you still need the flexibility of renting, where you can leave relatively easily?

Or are you craving the stability of a house, where you have more control over what you do to the property, and how long you stay there?

Will it be better for your finances if you rent long term, and try to put the money into shares instead?

Or do you want to work on paying down a home you own, so you can eventually live in it for free?

We're starting a project together with OneRoof, to walk you through each step of buying a house.

But in this first episode, the very first question you need to ask yourself is whether you want to buy one at all.

For the latest Cooking the Books, OneRoof commentator Ashley Church and Mark Lister from Craig's Investment Partners debated the pros and cons.

We discussed whether you can put off home ownership by investing in shares instead, the times when buying can be bad for your future, and why home ownership is such a key part of most peoples' financial plan.

If you have a question about this podcast, or question you'd like answered in the next one, come and talk to me about it. I'm on Facebook here https://www.facebook.com/FrancesCookJournalist/ Instagram here https://www.instagram.com/francescooknz/ and Twitter here https://twitter.com/FrancesCook

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

News directors Zaryd Wilson and Simon Waters host the show this week and are joined by sport and farming reporter Iain Hyndman as the special guest.

This week we discuss our Queen's Birthday honours, the One Roof Property Report, our feature interview with Whanganui MP Harete Hipango, the council's 3.7 per cent rate rise and debate around paying council staff the living wage.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.