National squeeze on family-sized rentals

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Four bedroom homes are in short supply as some cashed-up buyers put off purchasing their own home, latest research from real estate company First National has revealed.

Almost half of respondents across First National's 70 offices say there are not enough rental properties to meet demand, particularly for four plus bedroom homes in the mid to high-end range.

Analysis from Trade Me this morning has also revealed an ease in supply of rental property, particularly in Auckland where listings are down 12 per cent, Christchurch (-6 per cent) and Wellington (-2 per cent).

"The residential market is wide open for cashed-up buyers at the moment, but people are waiting in anticipation of lower prices, a change which First National believes is unlikely," First National's general manager John Stewart said.

The news comes just a day after BNZ and REINZ said 30 per cent of the 742 agents real estate agents surveyed said there were more first-home buyers in the market.

Almost one third of respondents to the First National survey said there was a good balance between supply and demand, while 22 per cent of property managers reported an oversupply of rental property.

Property managers in Central Otago reported the highest vacancy rates (11 per cent) of any of First National's offices, due to a concentration of holiday and short-term rentals and a later than usual start to the ski season.

In contrast Canterbury's vacancy rate fell to just 3 per cent, against a national vacancy rate of 7 per cent.

"Our property managers in Christchurch have noted a surprising shift in turnover trends.

"Instead of waiting for 12-month leases, landlords in Christchurch are happy to sign up short-term tenants in the belief that the market will continue to be strong.

"They expect residents to continue to seek rental properties as they cope with changes in their circumstances in the wake of Canterbury's earthquakes and extensive property repairs in the coming months," he said.

There was also willingness by landlords to accept short term tenancies further north, Stewart said.

"Anecdotally, in central Auckland and Wellington, landlords are also content to take short-term tenants presently so their properties are vacant again for high-priced bookings for the World Cup in a few months' time," Stewart said.

Prices for rentals were also on the increase - most of them by $10 to $15 per week, 44 per cent of respondents said.

The biggest increases were reported in Waitakere and Waihi Beach, Stewart said.

Forty-one per cent of respondents said rental prices were the same as July last year, and 14 per cent said they were down.