Rents are increasing in Napier, CHB

Rental prices are increasing in Hawke's Bay.

The cost of renting in Napier and Central Hawke's Bay has gone up, but tenants in Wairoa, Hastings and Tararua District are paying less than last year.

Rental bond information from Tenancy Services - mapped into interactive graphics by insights.nzherald.co.nz - show Napier's average rent increased from $310 per week last year to $325 this year. The rise is even greater in Central Hawke's Bay where the average rent per week is $195 - an increase from $165 in 2014. In Hastings, where rents are slightly cheaper at $305, there has been a price decrease from $325 in 2014.

To rent in Wairoa the average cost would be $175 p/w. This has decreased by $20 from the mean of $195 in 2014.

The Tararua District has seen a dramatic change in rental prices at the beginning of the year, however the mean has returned to its natural median.

The average cost for a rental in the area was $180 in 2014 and has dropped down to $175 per week in 2015. The cost of rentals rocketed to over $200 at the start of 2015 but has since levelled off.

In Auckland the rental market is mirroring rising house prices. Many have chosen to rent rather than buy in Auckland due to rising house prices but they haven't been able to escape the bubble as mean rent in New Zealand's biggest city passed the $500 mark for the first time this year.

The rental bond information showed Auckland's average rent now stands at $514/week, rising from $491/week in January.

Vice-president of Hawke's Bay Rental Management Ltd, Graham Duff, said the price for rentals are rising slowly, but this comes after almost four years of not much movement in some parts of the market.

Mr Duff said on average it is now cheaper by about $197 per week to rent than buy in Hawke's Bay.

"With the rise in insurance costs and the annual 5 per cent rate increase it is all relative."

However, he said there were a number of "greedy, ratbag landlords" who were charging ridiculous amounts for rent.

He said landlords need to be intelligent.

"The tenants are our customers. We need to treat them as such and provide them with warm, safe and dry homes to live in."

He said it was irresponsible of landlords to increase rent "willy nilly".

"We have a lot of seasonal workers here in Hawke's Bay," Mr Duff said.

He had taken it upon himself to carry five of his tenants through the six-week employment lull before the fruit picking season. "They are good tenants and I don't want to lose them. I'm confident they will find seasonal work and pay me back at about $20-$30 a week."

He expected to see a continued trend in rent increases but not at any "great rate".

"Rent prices need to be sustainable, people can only pay so much so without wage increases we shouldn't see it rise significantly."

A Hastings father, who did not wish to be named, said he was looking for a bigger property but with the "ridiculous prices" he felt the best option was to move to Waipawa.

"I've noticed the rise, it's stupid - $300 for a three-bedroom in Flaxmere!

"It has made families have to move to worse areas like for an average three-bedroom home its 300 at least I remember when you could get a great house for that."