Tenants looking for high-end rental properties are struggling to find what they are looking for with one Rotorua tenant having to move four times in three years.
Meanwhile, owners of low-end properties in Rotorua are struggling to find tenants.
Rotorua Rentals owner Richard Evans said there was a feast and famine when it came to rentals in Rotorua, with high end properties scarce and plenty of options in the low end bracket.
"Put it this way, on Trade Me at the moment in Rotorua there are over 360 houses to rent and that is almost exactly 100 more than there was 12 months ago and that is exactly 100 more than it was prior to that," he said.
"So there has been an absolute explosion of houses to rent. But the vast majority of that is in the lower-middle end, if you like.
"There is always a chronic shortage of good family homes in expensive areas and that's where rents have gone up. In the $300 to $500-a-week [bracket], houses are like hen's teeth."
Mr Evans said a quality home in a good area will be snapped up immediately while homes on the lower end of the scale can be on the market for months.
Rotorua tenant Bill Sundheim moved to New Zealand from Colorado three years ago with his wife and two children and has had to rent four properties.
He said it was difficult to find a property in Rotorua which suited his family requirements.
"The upper end of properties were very limited and what there is are usually homes that have not sold and if you rent them it's clear that at any moment they could be up for sale."
Mr Sundheim said the biggest issue for his family was finding a long-term rental property.
"Houses waiting to be sold, there is quite a few of them. We looked at Kawaha Point, Springfield and of course Lynmore."
The retiree was hopeful the family's current location in Brunswick Dr would be more long term.
He said when he and his wife were looking for a home to rent, size, quality and stability were more important than price.
The cheapest rental property listed in Rotorua is a one-bedroom bedsit in Fordlands, advertised for just $100 a week.
The rear property bedsit boasts a spacious living area, off street parking, and is within walking distance to local shops and the bus route to town.
Rental listing agent Steve Coates said it was rare for a Rotorua property to drop below $100 a week.
"That one is only like that because it's on the market for sale.
"You'll find in the winter that it's very hard to let if a house is on the market - that's why we lowered [the rent] that much, to try to attract more attention," Mr Coates said.
The average weekly rent in Rotorua was down slightly year-on-year to $267 in the April to June quarter, according to new Trade Me Property figures.
The region's average weekly rent was well below the national average - which rose $6 in the past year to reach $417 a week.
The supply of rentals listed was up 26 per cent last quarter, while demand dropped 5 per cent, the figures show.
At the uppermost end of the scale, Rotorua's most expensive rental last quarter was a six-bedroom home in Te Ngae, listed for $600 per week.
Described as an "entertainer's delight" ideally suited to an executive or professional family or group, the property boasted six bedrooms (four with ensuites), three lounge areas (two with fires) and an open plan, oak kitchen.
With an average rent of $494 a week, Auckland rental properties remained the country's most expensive last quarter, followed by Canterbury at $480 and Wellington at $408.