Auckland rents up 7.6% in last year

Median weekly rent for Auckland properties went up by 7.6% over the last year, according to the latest Trade Me Property Rental Price Index.

This means they were up $35 per week year-on-year.

In June alone, they rose by $5 a week to hit $495 per week.

Head of Trade Me Property Nigel Jeffries said Auckland rents showed a significantly higher increase over the first half of 2015 when compared to the latter half of 2014.

“In 2014, rents were rising at an annual rate of around 2% a year, but the first six months of 2015 have upped the ante with rents rising at an average of 6%, and they’re now heading toward 8% in the year to June.”

“The median weekly rent for an Auckland tenant is now over $25,740 compared to just under $24,000 per annum in June 2014.”

Jeffries said that, over the past five years, the median Auckland weekly rent had gone from $400 to $495, which was an increase of 23.8%.

“A $95 jump in weekly rental costs isn’t trivial, but it pales into insignificance when compared to the 62% rise in expected selling price for Auckland properties over the same period.”

Meanwhile, Auckland’s rising rents sit in striking contrast to the rest of the country where median rents remain more subdued.

The median weekly rent nationwide did not change between May and June, stagnating at $360 per week. 

This was an increase of just 2.2%, or $10 per week, from this time a year ago.

Jeffries said that, outside of Auckland, the last couple of months saw a hefty slowdown in the pace of median rent increases, particularly compared to the second half of 2014 where they rose by 7%.

Overall, eight of the 14 regions reported growth in median weekly rents, while four regions saw falls, and two remained unchanged.

Taranaki and Gisborne both did well with increases of 12.5% and 11.1% respectively.

However, Canterbury, Otago and Waikato reported declines in the median weekly rent.

Jeffries said the Christchurch rental market had peaked in March with median rent of $495 per week, before easing back to $440 per week in June.