High costs force Northland landlords to sell, tenants struggle

Northlanders are finding it harder to find affordable rental properties.

• Landlords are exiting Northland’s property market due to rising costs like insurance and maintenance.
• Median rent in Northland is $585, with many families struggling as rents reach up to $1000 weekly.
• Northland is among the worst regions for rental unaffordability, driving poverty and homelessness.

Increasing numbers of landlords are “bailing out” of Northland’s property market as tenants struggle to find affordable homes to rent.

That was according to a Whangārei property management expert and Kerikeri charity who are concerned that New Zealand’s high costs of living is impacting the region’s rental market.

Property Scouts Whangārei business owner Didi Skinner said some landlords are “bailing out” of their investment properties due to increasing expenses.

Skinner knows of quite a few owners who are selling up due to soaring costs like insurance.

In one case, landlord insurance on a three-bedroom home increased from $2100 to $3800 a year, she said.

“They’re not getting properties filled up at rates that will cover the costs.

“Rent has to cover the reasonable costs of the property, and who carries that?

“Water has gone up, power has gone up, rates have gone up ... it’s all part of our economy.

“For the average small landlord, these kind of shock increases cannot be absorbed.”

Skinner said that is why we are seeing properties going on the market now.

“More and more we’re seeing landlords bailing, which is terrible because if they hang in there when the market picks up again, they have the opportunity to invest in Northland.”

Property Scouts Whangārei business owner Didi Skinner said some landlords are selling their investment properties due to increasing expenses like insurance.

New data from TradeMe showed a 25% increase in the national median weekly rent since the March 2020 lockdown.

Rent jumped from $510 to $640 over the past five years.

The February rental data saw a drop, including a 1.5% decrease in Wellington and Auckland where rents are now $665 and $660, respectively.

The median weekly rent for Northland in February was $585.

But that’s compared to the median income in Northland, which sits at $33,100, according to the latest data from Stats NZ.

Monika Welch, who provides food for struggling families through her charity Finkk (Families in Need Kerikeri), said people are struggling to find affordable places to live.

“They’re [rents] $600 and getting up to $700; it’s outrageous.

“The income, whether it’s a beneficiary or someone with a job, isn’t matching up to the rent.

“That’s just the rent, then you add on water, power, Wi-Fi, petrol, food - it doesn’t work so people fall behind.

“The maths just doesn’t work.”

There are about 180 three to four-bedroom houses currently available for rent in Northland on TradeMe.

While there are several around the median price in Raumanga [$520] and in Kaikohe [$530], most are asking between $650 and $800 per week, with a few, including in Mangawhai, priced over $1000 a week.

Living costs are having a knock-on effect on Northland’s rental market.

Skinner said tenants are becoming more creative with their living arrangements.

A couple who wanted to rent a house in town can’t afford that now, so they may rent a bigger house and share with another couple, move out of town, or live in an apartment, she said.

“Suddenly we’re seeing landlords aren’t getting tenants willing to pay those higher rents.”

Trade Me Property customer director Gavin Lloyd said the Covid-19 pandemic had impacted the rental market over the past five years.

“The pandemic disrupted the housing market significantly from the minute the first lockdown was announced.

“The ‘stay home, stay safe’ mandate led to increased demand, on what was already a very tight market.

“Couple that with rising inflation and job losses, the pressure led to some big swings in rental prices in the months and years that followed.”

Some Northland families are spending more than half their weekly income on rent.

According to a Salvation Army report, Northland is among the country’s worst regions for rental unaffordability.

The report, called Tackling Rental Affordability in Communities, says increasing rent is a key driver of “unacceptable levels” of poverty and homelessness in New Zealand.

Jenny Ling is a senior journalist at the Northern Advocate. She has a special interest in covering human interest stories, along with finance, roading, lifestyle, and animal welfare issues.