Each week the NZ Herald and Newstalk ZB's Cooking the Books podcast tackles a different money problem. Today, it's everything you need to know about mortgages and property ownership in a rapidly changing situation. Hosted by Frances Cook.

Owning your own home is a big part of many New Zealanders becoming financially secure - but it can be a scary prospect, especially in times like these.

Just released research from ASB shows a lot of us are feeling nervous, with confidence in the housing market at almost the lowest levels in eight years.

The numbers of people expecting house prices to rise has crashed since last time, from 54 per cent to just 14, and a slim majority of New Zealanders think it’s a bad time to buy a house.

There are other complicating factors as well. Record low interest rates mean mortgages are now outrageously cheap – all the major banks are now offering deals under three per cent.

Some first home buyers are also expressing hope that if house prices fall, they might be able to get into the market.

There’s a lot happening here, and frankly, I’ve been getting a lot of questions into my inbox about what it all means.

So I’ve pulled together the most common questions you’ve sent me, and we’re getting them all answered.

For the latest Cooking the Books podcast I talked to Mortgage Lab CEO Rupert Gough.

We discussed how to get the lowest rate on your mortgage, what this all means for first home buyers, and how investors can protect themselves.

If you have a question you'd like answered in a future podcast, 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