Head of Trade Me Property, Nigel Jeffries, said the working class, particularly those living closer to central Auckland, were doing quite a trade off to save rent by looking further afield.
Much like people travelling to Auckland from Hamilton and those commuting by trains for more than an hour each day in Wellington, he said Northland appealed to those who could work a few days out of the region.
For those working on the North Shore it meant a commute could be about 90 minutes, less time than if they lived in West Auckland and with far less traffic to negotiate.
"Transport routes are getting better and rents are cheaper in Northland and they're getting paid Auckland wages and they pay Northland rents so it's quite a nice equation.
"People are working in Whangārei for two to three days and a similar number of days in Auckland. If they are getting company cars, then commuting to and from Auckland becomes easier and cheaper.
"That's certainly been a trend in the last couple of years as people escape high rents (in Auckland), although that arrangement works against locals who can't find suitable and affordable rental accommodation," he said.
In the last couple of years, he said demand for both rental properties and homes for sale in Northland continued to outstrip supply and that would continue to be the trend for some time.
He said new builds in Northland would not solve the rental problem as they would likely be occupied by home owners rather than rented out.
Jeffries said median rents dipped in some winter months but that was unlikely this year.
All districts in Northland experienced a fall in median rents between May and June except Kaipara that saw an increase from $400 to $430.
In the Far North, the median rent decreased from $370 to $360.
People staying longer in rental properties are further exacerbating the demand.
The median rent in Northland in January was $385, dropping slightly to $380 in February before rising to $400 in April and staying the same in May.
