Mr Dear said premium properties commanded premium prices.
"Good, clean, tidy properties rent very quickly and get good money."
There had been a rise in the value of those properties.
Aucklanders had been buying properties in the area to rent out.
"I've heard of people coming up three weekends in a row and buying three properties," Mr Dear said.
He expected the Northland property market would slow as it had in Auckland, which would mean even fewer rentals coming on to the market.
Trade Me estimates that a renter in Auckland can now expect to pay $400 a week regardless of property size or type.
Head of Trade Me Property Nigel Jeffries said even the smallest unit or one-bedroom home would cost a typical Auckland renter $400 a week.
Outside Auckland, the median asking rent remained relatively stable for the fourth month in a row, up 3 per cent to $360 a week.
Over the past five years the median asking rent for a property outside Auckland has increased 20 per cent from $300 a week in August 2010 to $360 a week in August 2015.
Median asking rents increased in 10 regions, fell in three regions and were unchanged in two regions.
The Trade Me Property rental price index measures trends in median weekly rents for residential properties on Trade Me Property rented by real estate property managers and private landlords over the past month.
About 11,000 rental properties are let through Trade Me Property each month.
