Rents rise countrywide

Every region in New Zealand saw an annual increase in rent in July as rental properties across the country continue to attract a lot of interest from potential tenants, according to the latest Trade Me Rental Price Index.

Trade Me Property’s Aaron Clancy said many regions experienced strong double-digit growth in July with four regions reaching new records. “Demand for rental properties continues to rise and we saw a 20 per cent jump in the number of enquiries nationwide. Supply isn’t keeping up, with the number of rentals dipping 5 per cent nationwide on the year prior. As a result, tenants are having to dig deep into their wallets to secure their new home.

“With rents remaining high, demand increasing and supply slipping, all the signs are pointing to record breaking rents this summer.”

Mr Clancy said the national median weekly rent rose 5.3 per cent on the year prior to $500.
“Taking a closer look at the regions, Gisborne, Manawatu/Whanganui, Otago and the West Coast hit new highs in July. Bay of Plenty saw a huge surge in demand with the number of enquiries rising 55 per cent on last year. It was a similar story in Otago with enquiries up 34 per cent,” he said.

Wellington rents rise $50 per week
“Tenants in Wellington can expect to pay another $50 per week in rent compared to last year after the median weekly rent in region rose 10.4 per cent to $530 in July.”

Mr Clancy said Wellington City, Porirua and Lower Hutt had the highest median weekly rent in the region. “Rents in Wellington City reached $560 in July, rising 7.7 per cent on the year prior. The median weekly rent in Porirua rose 5 per cent to $525 and Lower Hutt saw an 18 per cent jump in rent to reach $530 per week.”

The number of Wellington properties available for rent was down 7 per cent on July 2018 while demand was up 4.5 per cent.

“Interestingly, the three most popular rentals in Wellington in July were all outside the central city. A rental on Jackson Street in Petone received the most enquiries of any rental in the region with 85 requests in the first two days onsite.”

Wellington’s most popular rental listings in July 2019

Demand spikes for Auckland rentals
Mr Clancy said rentals in Auckland were in hot demand with the number of enquiries up 22 per cent on July last year. Supply was battling to keep up with the number of available properties dipping 2 per cent year-on-year.

“Auckland’s median weekly rent rose 1.8 per cent or $10 per week to $560 in July. While rents in the region have remained unchanged since February, we think this rising demand and falling supply will put pressure on prices, which means we will likely see some big jumps in the coming months.

Mr Clancy said the districts with the highest median weekly rents are North Shore City, Auckland City and Rodney. The median weekly rent in North Shore City was up 3.3 per cent on last year to $620 per week, while rents in Auckland City were up 2.7 per cent to $565. Rents in Rodney reached $565 in July, up 7.6 per cent on last year.

“The most popular rental property on Trade Me in July was a three bedroom house in Papatoetoe which had 99 enquiries in the first two days onsite.”

Auckland’s most popular rental listings in July 2019

Rents by house size
Mr Clancy said the median weekly rent across all house sizes increased on July last year.

“The biggest increase was for large houses (5+ bedrooms) in Wellington which saw the median weekly rent rise 17.1 per cent on last year to $995 per week.

“Small houses (1-2 bedrooms) in Auckland were the only house size to experience a dip, falling 1.1 per cent to $465 in July.”

Apartments, townhouses and units are in demand
“Apartments, townhouses and units are in hot demand and in July we saw a 24 per cent annual increase in the number of enquiries.”

“The median weekly rent for urban properties in Wellington rose a solid 9.2 per cent on last year with townhouses seeing an even bigger jump of 16 per cent in rent.”

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