Bay of Plenty Times
  • Bay of Plenty Times home
  • Latest news
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
  • Sport
  • Video
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Residential property listings
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
  • Sport

Locations

  • Coromandel & Hauraki
  • Katikati
  • Tauranga
  • Mount Maunganui
  • Pāpāmoa
  • Te Puke
  • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua

Media

  • Video
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-Editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

Weather

  • Thames
  • Tauranga
  • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Premium
Home / Bay of Plenty Times

Rising Tauranga rents put strain on families

Carmen Hall
By Carmen Hall
Bay of Plenty Times·
2 Jan, 2020 04:00 PM4 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

    Reminder, this is a Premium article and requires a subscription to read.

Rents are continuing to increase in Tauranga. Photo / Tauranga City Council

Rents are continuing to increase in Tauranga. Photo / Tauranga City Council

The average weekly rent in Tauranga has hit $487 - upping the cost of a roof over your head by more than $2000 a year.

The rental market - one of New Zealand's most expensive - has been described as one where "he who has the most money will win" and experts say low-income earners are struggling.

Social agencies say some families are spending more than 75 per cent of their income on rent, while others resorted to living in their cars.

Read more: Rental crisis in Tauranga causing distress and desperation for those who need a home

CoreLogic senior property economist Kelvin Davidson said average weekly rent in Tauranga was $487 a week, up from $447 one year ago.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Data from the Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment show average median rents in the Bay of Plenty region in the year to November jumped from $381 a week to $445 - adding $3328 to the annual bill.

MP for Bay of Plenty Todd Muller. Photo / File
MP for Bay of Plenty Todd Muller. Photo / File

MP for Bay of Plenty Todd Muller said the amount in extra rent families were paying was not inconsequential.

''It could fill up a car around 30 times, fly a family of four return to Australia, or pay for about 11 big grocery shops.''

Read more: Transitional housing in Tauranga costs taxpayers more than $9 million dollars

According to Trade Me, the most popular rental property in Tauranga for the year was a three-bedroom Mount Maunganui house on Carter St which had 284 inquiries within two days of being posted.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Trade Me Property spokesman Aaron Clancy said Tauranga's rental market continued to be very strong and it was one of the most expensive places to rent in the country.

Tauranga Rentals owner Dan Lusby. Photo / File
Tauranga Rentals owner Dan Lusby. Photo / File

Tauranga Rentals owner Dan Lusby said it was now offering financial advice to some of its tenants who were struggling to pay rent and had clocked up arrears.

Discover more

Rental squeeze for older residents

22 Sep 06:00 PM
Business

Renters fork out $20,000 a year for 2-bedder

31 Oct 04:03 PM

As rents rise, more Tauranga singles are seeking help

12 Jun 03:56 AM
Property

'Nobody will give us a go': Couple's two-year battle to find a rental home

07 Jun 08:42 PM

"Sadly this is happening in the low socio-demographic areas to people who can least afford it."

Lusby said it was an emerging trend.

The business had lost about 40 properties this year. The owners sold them after new government regulations kicked in and rental returns fell to about 3 per cent, Lusby said.

Simon Anderson, chief executive of Realty Group, which operates Eves and Bayleys. Photo / File
Simon Anderson, chief executive of Realty Group, which operates Eves and Bayleys. Photo / File

Simon Anderson, managing director of Realty Group, which operates Eves and Bayleys, said there had been a lot of development happening in Tauranga, particularly in Pāpāmoa and The Lakes.

He said new rentals located near schools and other amenities were highly sought after.

"They are top-notch and will go for big money.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"That is just the way the market is and they are not going to be the typical houses low-income earners can afford, so it is a challenge."

Investors wanted the biggest returns possible while tenants wanted nice homes, as cheap as possible.

"It's like he who has the most money wins in that game. The bigger amount of cash you have, the better place you can afford which is unfortunate."

Read more: 'Disheartening': Tauranga family stuck in transitional housing

Harcourts Tauranga managing director Simon Martin. Photo / File
Harcourts Tauranga managing director Simon Martin. Photo / File

Harcourts Tauranga managing director Simon Martin said rents were rising due to increased demand from people moving to Tauranga.

"If more houses were built and available for rent then rents would not be climbing as fast.

"Bank restrictions for lending on investors and a lack of available development land are both factors that are driving up rents.

"If we could sell more properties to investors there would be more houses available for rent, which would curb the rate that rents are currently increasing by."

The average four-bedroom home in Mount/Pāpāmoa was renting for mid $600s per week, and in Tauranga for $550 - $600 per week.

Harcourts managed about 900 investment properties in the city, with the portfolio steadily increasing year-on-year, he said.

Papamoa Family Services financial mentor Kathy Young. Photo / File
Papamoa Family Services financial mentor Kathy Young. Photo / File

Papamoa Family Services financial mentor Kathy Young said some of its clients were spending more than 75 per cent of their income on rent and others had resorted to living in their cars.

"We have clients who are in shocking rentals but will not complain as they have accepted a reduced rent for a sub-standard rental and fear being evicted."

Read more: Tauranga's surprising top-performing suburb

Save

    Share this article

    Reminder, this is a Premium article and requires a subscription to read.

Latest from Bay of Plenty Times

Bay of Plenty Times

Median house price falls in Auckland, increases in regions

Bay of Plenty Times
|Updated

Vaccine decline threatens 95% target as hesitancy grows

Bay of Plenty Times

$1m buyers crazy for Hare Krishna barn with cars in the lounge - 'my busiest open home in three years'


Sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Bay of Plenty Times

Median house price falls in Auckland, increases in regions
Bay of Plenty Times

Median house price falls in Auckland, increases in regions

Reinz report shows sales volumes below expected, more days to sell.

14 Jul 09:54 PM
Vaccine decline threatens 95% target as hesitancy grows
Bay of Plenty Times
|Updated

Vaccine decline threatens 95% target as hesitancy grows

14 Jul 09:34 PM
$1m buyers crazy for Hare Krishna barn with cars in the lounge - 'my busiest open home in three years'
Bay of Plenty Times

$1m buyers crazy for Hare Krishna barn with cars in the lounge - 'my busiest open home in three years'

14 Jul 07:38 PM


Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky
Sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

06 Jul 09:47 PM
NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • Bay of Plenty Times e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Bay of Plenty Times
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP