Where rents are falling, and where they're not
New data shows that New Zealand's rental market is experiencing significant regional variation, with some areas seeing record highs while others face declines. Economists suggest that local factors like population movement and supply are driving these divergent trends rather than a single national trend.
Why it matters
Understanding regional rental fluctuations is critical for policymakers and tenants to gauge housing affordability and local economic health.
Rents might have dropped about as far as they are going to go, one economist says, as new data shows a mixed picture in August.
Realestate.co.nz data shows the national average asking rent on its site hit $637 last August, up 1.5 percent on a year earlier.
But within that, there was significant variation. Marlborough was up 8.2 percent to $553, Canterbury was up 5.7 percent to $622, Otago was up 5.6 percent to $653 and Waikato was up 4.1 percent to $587, a record for the area.
But rents fell in the West Coast, down 6.5 percent, Gisborne, down 5.2 percent, Southland, down 4.8 percent, Manawatū/Whanganui, down 4.5 percent and Wairarapa, down 3.3 percent.
Chief executive Sarah Wood said it was a reminder there was no single rental market.
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