Rents soar in the Super City

The region’s median rents rose to hit a record $550 per week in February, according to the latest Trade Me Property Rental Index.

That’s up from $540 in January and is a 5.8% year-on-year increase.

Notably, rental prices in the North Shore and Manukau continued to gain momentum in February, rising $10 on January to a record of $595 and $530 respectively.

In Auckland City, the median weekly rent remained unchanged for a second consecutive month at $550 per week.”

Head of Trade Me Property Nigel Jeffries says the Auckland rental market went against February’s trend.

“But it does not usually follow the same seasonal ‘student surge’ pattern as Wellington and is often less predictable."

In contrast, Wellington saw the median rent cool to $490 in February, after hitting an Auckland-equivalent record high in January.

Jeffries says typically rental prices in the Capital peak in December and January when students come into the city looking for a flat, before easing back in February and March.

“However, it’s only a $10 drop and rents are still up 6.5% on last year. Demand is still very high without the supply to meet it.

“For example, a house in Lower Hutt got over 100 queries in the first two days it was listed, and two others in the Wellington CBD had well over 90.

“With numbers like this still appearing regularly, we’re expecting to see plenty more bumps along the rental road this year for tenants.” 

Meanwhile, the data shows the national median weekly rent stalled in February, remaining at its all-time high of $470 per week, which is a 4.4% increase on this time last year.

Jefferies says the number of rental listings across the country was still down by 4% on last February which is keeping prices high.”

“But tenants will be pleased the rate of growth has finally eased after a turbulent summer for the rental market.”

The Christchurch rental market continues to flatline, with the median rent unchanged from January at $400 per week, up just $5 on last February.

Jeffries says median rents around the regions were a mixed bag in February with record rents in some areas and large dips in others.

Median rents in Hawkes Bay, Marlborough, Southland, and Manawatu/Wanganui all recorded strong year-on-year growth in February.

“But Gisborne took the prize for growth in February, shooting up 22.2 per cent on last year to $330 per week,’ Jefferies adds.

In Taranaki median rents were unchanged on this time last year, while median rents on the West Coast fell by 5.5%.