Trade Me says the lower rents may not last for too long. Photo: RNZ
Trade Me says rents are down - but that could be about to change.
After Realestate.co.nz said on Thursday that rents were down on an annual basis for the first time in a decade, Trade Me said its data also showed a 1.6 percent drop over a year in the asking price for rental properties on its site.
That was equal to about $10 a week. Some Wellington rents were back to a level "not seen in years".
The median weekly advertised rent was $620 in December, unchanged from the month before.
"It's a bit of a steady start to the summer," Trade Me Property spokesperson Casey Wylde said.
"After some movement earlier in the year, the national median rent settled at the $620 mark for the second month in a row. While it's great news for renters' wallets that prices haven't spiked, we're seeing a lot of interest behind the scenes. We've had about an 8 percent year-on-year increase in searches in December, so this may not last for too long."
Search activity in Gisborne jumped 51 percent year-on-year, with Hawke's Bay and Taranaki also up 28 and 29 percent respectively.
Wylde said some people might be looking at what else was available in the market, if they thought they were paying more than market rent.
"It's just the same with when people are looking to buy properties as well, you're always going to have a lot of people that are having a bit of a nosy and then often it's those passive searchers that end up making a move."
She said sometimes people were looking to regions like Gisborne and Hawke's Bay for a lifestyle change.
The number of new rental listings coming on to the market dropped by 23 percent compared to November but was still up 4 percent on December 224.
"We usually see a dip in new listings as people focus on their holidays, but the demand isn't slowing down," Wylde said.
Auckland and Bay of Plenty were the areas with the most expensive rents, both at $650 a week.
Auckland was down 3 percent on a year earlier and Bay of Plenty was down 1.5 percent compared to November and compared to December 2024.
Canterbury rents rose 1.8 percent from November to December, to a median $580. Southland was the most affordable at $450 per week, and Wellington was $600 per week which is $50 cheaper than last December.
"The biggest wins for tenants in Pōneke are in the smaller-to-mid-sized homes," Wylde said.
"We've seen rents for one and two-bedroom properties fall by over 5 percent annually, while three-to-four-bedroom homes have dropped by nearly 7 percent. For families and young professionals in the capital, the cost of living in a rental's now back to levels we haven't seen in years."
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