Rents in Auckland soar to $500 a week

Houses in the Auckland suburb of Stonefields. Photo / Getty Images

The cost of renting a typical home in Auckland has surpassed $500 per week for the first time, according to Trade Me Property data.

Analysis of median asking rents from Trade Me Property showed the cost of renting in Auckland hit a new high in November.

However, data from the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment on tenancy bonds showed the $500 per week average had been reached in May.

Head of Trade Me Property Nigel Jeffries said the cost of renting in our largest city had risen 9 per cent over the past 12 months.

"This means an extra $40 for tenants to pay each week, or an annual hit of $2,000 per year."

Trade Me Property data showed over the past five years median asking rent in Auckland has risen 26.6 per cent or $105 per week. Between November 2012 and November 2014, median asking rents moved within a small range of $25 per week, but that has increased by another $40 per week over the past year.

Meanwhile, renting in Christchurch is getting cheaper.

Jeffries said median asking rents in Christchurch fell for the seventh consecutive month when compared to the same time a year ago.

"While the average asking rent for a typical Christchurch property has stayed static at $420 per week when compared with last month, this is a 7 per cent decline from $450 per week a year ago," he said.

The five-year trend showed median asking rents in Christchurch rose steeply in the early stages of the period before turning on their heels in May this year.

"As the market cools off we're seeing rents start to match those from two years ago. It's worth noting that the five-year growth of Christchurch still represents the largest of any of the three main metro areas and any other region of the country, even including its recent downturn," Jeffries said.

Excluding Auckland, median asking rents around the country edged up slightly from $360 per week in October to $370 per week in November, a year-on-year rise of 5.7 per cent that adds just over a $1,000 a year in rent for tenants.

Jeffries said the most action-packed rental market was the Bay of Plenty, where rents rose by $50 per week in the past year.