Abigail Hargreaves has just moved into a long-term rental in Rotorua. Photo / Mead Norton
Abigail Hargreaves has just moved into a long-term rental in Rotorua. Photo / Mead Norton
Rotorua renter Abigail Hargreaves is “very happy” to have found a new home after she feared ending up in emergency housing when she lost her rented sleepout.
This week, Hargreaves said she moved into her new rental on Saturday, and while her rent had increased, it was worth it for a “decent” place.
“I feel comfortable, it feels like it’s home.”
The latest Trade Me figures, for November, put Rotorua’s median weekly rental price at $550 - a record high in Rotorua which was also recorded in June. This represented a six per cent increase year-on-year.
Rotorua’s median weekly rental price in October was $500.
Abigail Hargreaves has just moved into a long-term rental in Rotorua. Photo / Mead Norton
Hargreaves said she was offered the long-term rental in Pukehangi by a woman on the bus.
“She knew me from the bus a while ago, and she saw my post on Facebook and she offered me the room. She has two dogs and I love her dogs; she loves my cat, so it’s pretty good.”
She was living with one other person and was within walking distance to a bus stop, the shops and a dairy.
“I’ve got a room of my own and I share the kitchen and bathroom, but it’s good.”
Hargreaves said she was “very happy” to have found a rental before Christmas and her 30th birthday, in January.
Rotorua Rentals owner Pauline Evans said high rent levels were not sustainable. However, she did not foresee a fall in rents, but rather a “stabilising period”.
“If the issue of supply and demand is not solved, then I can see rent increases continuing for the foreseeable future.”
Evans said many articles and discussions had highlighted the cost of living crisis and inflationary pressures, such as the cost of fuel, power and food, on everyone.
“Add to this picture the slowing residential sales market, which has released a few properties back into our rental pool - as vendors fail to sell, they have decided instead to rent.”
With a more “buoyant” tourism market, this could see rentals converted into Airbnb properties, which would put pressure and stress on the rental pool and drive up rent prices.
Property Brokers’ Bay of Plenty property manager Abby Blain said it was seeing strong demand for rental properties in Rotorua, Tauranga and the Western Bay of Plenty.
“We are constantly contacted by prospective tenants, desperate to find accommodation.”
Blain said it was starting to see a gradual increase in properties moving to the rental market, where the owners were either unable to sell their property in the current climate for the price they were expecting or needing, or they were specifically wanting to hold on to their asset, rent it and go overseas.
Trade Me property sales director Gavin Lloyd said the Bay of Plenty, Auckland and Wellington were tied as the most expensive regions to rent, with all three seeing a median weekly rent of $600 in November.
New Zealand rents remained at an all-time high in November, with the regions seeing prices jump while they dropped in the main centres, according to the latest Trade Me Property data.
Lloyd said the national median weekly rent was $580 for the second month in a row in November.
“However, if we take a closer look at the numbers, there was a lot of variety around the country, with most of the regions seeing rents boom while Auckland and Wellington saw no year-on-year growth.”
