Auckland rents hit median $510/week: new data

Auckland median rents are now $510/week, up 3 per cent annually according to the Trade Me Property Rental Index. Photo / Doug Sherring

Auckland median rents are now $510/week, up 3 per cent annually according to the Trade Me Property Rental Index.

One and two bedroom Auckland places are a median $420/week, up 5 per cent from July last year.

Three to four bedroom places are now fetching $570/week, up 3.6 per cent annually, while large houses of five or more bedrooms are now $7870/week, up 4 per cent.

In a city where one man sought to rent a drivewway, Trade Me found that at a median $510/week for all property types, Auckland remains New Zealand's most expensive city, ahead of Wellington's $420/week median and Christchurch's $400/week.

Auckland apartment rents are rising too, up 4.4 per cent annually to reach $470/week by July. Townhouse rents remain static at $565/week, while unit rents rose 3.8 per cent to a median $410/week.

The index is produced from Trade Me Property data of places rented each month by property managers and private landlords.

"On average over 11,000 properties are rented each month and the report provides a comprehensive insight into this part of the property market for tenants, landlords and investors," Trade Me says.

Nigel Jeffries, head of Trade Me Property, said tenants were "benefiting from a very lacklustre rental market while those looking to break into the property market watch prices continue to rise. Median weekly rents rose just $10 across New Zealand in July to $440, according to the latest Trade Me Property Rental Index.

"In Auckland this growth has been even lower, at just 3 per cent. Rents in the Super City have risen just $15 in the last year to $510 a week and didn't budge between June and July," Jeffries said.

Little rent price movement was a big contrast to house price leaps.

"Over the past two years we've seen the national average asking price across leap more than $100,000, while the median rent has gone up just $45 from $395 to $440 per week. In Auckland, it is even more pronounced with average asking prices up more than $200,000 since July 2014, alongside median rent that has only ticked up just $50 per week over the same period," Jeffries said.

In June, Auckland rental property rents were reported as setting new record highs.
Auckland property management business Crockers showed rents for a two-bedroom Auckland place hit a new all-time high of $467/week and three-bedroom weekly rents set a new $592/week record. In January, it cost on average $450/week to rent a two-bedroom place and only $580/week for a three-bedroom dwelling. However, national rents for three-bedroom places stayed at a record high of $440/week.

Barfoot & Thompson released rental price information in June, also showing Auckland rents were rising.

"Compared to May 2015, the average weekly rent for one bedroom properties has risen by 5.3 per cent (from $319 to $336), two bedroom by 6.2 per cent (from $403 to $428), three bedroom by 5.3 per cent (from $489 to $515), four bedroom by 4 per cent (from $623 to $648) and five or more bedroom by 4.8 per cent (from $763 to $800). The average rent in Auckland is now $515 per week," Barfoot said in June.