Rental Prices Unchanged Between July And August

After two consecutive months of declines, rental prices stabilised and remained unchanged in August, according to Trade Me Property’s latest Rental Price Index.

The median weekly rent in August was $640 and while there was no change month-to-month, prices are 3.2 per cent higher compared to August 2023.

On the supply side the situation remains strong. While listings have fallen 3.4 percent from July, they are still up 38 per cent year-on-year.

Demand has continued its downward trajectory, falling 13 percent between July and August and down 36 per cent compared to last August.

Trade Me Property’s Customer Director Gavin Lloyd said the flat pricing is to be expected.

“We’ve seen a step change in market dynamics this year with increasing supply coming at the same time as reducing demand.

“While we’ve seen a small drop off in supply from July it’s still tracking strongly compared to demand making it a kinder market for renters than in previous years.”

Auckland ($675) and Bay of Plenty ($670) are the top two most expensive regions to rent with Wellington, Hawke’s Bay and Otago sharing the third spot with the median rent sitting at $650 per week.

“It’s worth noting the situation in Canterbury, while it sits outside of the most expensive regions to rent, we have seen record high rents for two consecutive months now with the median weekly rent increasing $30 this year,” says Mr Lloyd.

Otago region a clear outlier

Despite the national median rent remaining unchanged between July and August, the Otago region experienced increases of 4.8 per cent, the only region of the 15 Trade Me Property monitors to experience increases above 2 per cent across the month.

Year-on-year, Otago has seen a staggering 16.1 per cent increase in the median rent - the only region to experience double digit growth. Like Canterbury, Otago has also seen record high rents recorded for two months in a row with the median weekly rent now sitting at $650.

“Renters in Queenstown Lakes especially may feel their wallets are a little lighter with the median weekly rent increasing $170 between July and August to $950 a week - that’s a significant additional cost to cover and if it doesn’t ease up amounts to close to an extra $9,000 a year,” says Mr Lloyd. 

“While these increases will be unwelcome news for tenants it will be interesting to keep an eye on how big increases in supply in the Queenstown Lakes District (up 232 per cent year-on-year) will impact rents, particularly when it outpaces demand (up 18 per cent year-on-year).”

 Ōtautahi apartments command record rents

As in July, Christchurch continues to show resilience with month-on-month prices for apartments up 6.0 per cent to a record high of $530 per week, units also rose up 9.5 per cent to $460 per week.

While larger properties with five or more bedrooms showed falling prices across Auckland and Wellington, down 5.8 per cent and 6.1 per cent respectively, the Garden city saw increases of 12.1 per cent to $1,110 per week. 

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