Auckland rents climb at last

May saw the average two-bedroom Auckland property let at $317 per week, opening a 31% premium between it and the nationwide rental figure for two-bedroom properties of $242 per week.

The three-bedroom market shows a similar trend, with the average Auckland rental going for $419 per week. Auckland now enjoys a 40% premium on the average nationwide three-bedroom rental level, which remained flat this month at $300 per week.

Comparing nationwide rent trends; the research showed other cities have enjoyed steeper rises than Auckland for many months. While Auckland’s May 2007 rental levels are an average 14% higher than in January 2002, the equivalent figure for Wellington is 30%, and close to 40% in Christchurch and Dunedin.

This still leaves Auckland property investors looking for substantial increases in rental levels to catch up with their counterparts in other cities.

While the nationwide return on investment trend is downward, South Island investors have been enjoying apparently rising returns on investment compared to their North Island counterparts.

In Auckland the situation is “particularly dire,” says the research.