Rental homes in the Western Bay are being snapped up in as little as 24 hours as increased demand has led to competition in the market and higher rent.
Real estate agents say the most in-demand properties are good quality family homes, which are commanding higher rents.
Ross Stanway, chief executive of Realty Services which operates Bayleys and Eves, said good properties in suburbs including Bethlehem, Otumoetai, Matua, Avenues and Pillans Point, as well Mount Maunganui were being let as soon as they became available.
"Demand in those areas without doubt exceeds supply.
"After a day of advertising, or at most two days of advertising, there might anything from four to 10 excellent quality tenants, which means a lot of people are missing out.
"Any of those tenants would be suitable, but only one can get the property."
Mr Stanway said the rental shortage at the high end was driven by people moving to Tauranga for job opportunities, compounded with a shortage of newly built homes and people who had sold their home but were now renting to assess the market.
"It's a simple fact that tenants are now competing for properties. Landlords are not competing for tenants. At that better end of the market demand has risen significantly."
Rents were increasing accordingly, Mr Stanway said.
Sharyn Woollett, property manager at Ray White Mount Maunganui, which also services Papamoa and parts of Tauranga, said good properties were lasting two-to-three days maximum before being snapped up.
"Properties are not lasting. They are going very quickly once it comes on the internet.
"If it went up at night there would two to three good inquiries by morning.
"If you can get the people in that day [to view the property], usually they sign up.
"I think people [prospective tenants] are getting quite frustrated, saying 'we just keep missing out'.
"It's a very busy time, better than it's been for a while.
"It just seems like there's a lot more activity. I think people are feeling more positive about real estate and their jobs, making decisions to move."
As a result of high demand, Mrs Woollett said landlords were adding an extra $10-$20 a week rent when changing tenants.
The increase had happened over the last three to four months, she said.
Mount Maunganui was particularly in demand, especially in the area from Golf Rd to Mauao.
"We can't get enough properties in the Mount."
An emerging trend was high demand in Papamoa East in the school zone for the year-old Golden Sands School, as well as Papamoa College.
"That's been quite a turn-around for us because traditionally Papamoa East was slow to rent, and now we can't get enough."
Houses in the zone for Tahatai Coast School were also being snapped up, Mrs Woollett said.
Other attractions making a rental home desirable were proximity to the beach, shops and buses.
Across the area, cheaper homes were harder to rent than those commanding more expensive rents.
"People are prepared to pay a bit more.
"We advertised a property in Grace Ave two weeks ago for $600 a week.
"We have been inundated with people wanting to rent it."
Max Martin, franchise owner of Harcourts Advantage Realty, said demand for rental property had been high across the board but particularly in the upper price bracket.
An apartment listed at $800 a week was rented within a day last week, and another two priced at $600-$650 a week were quickly rented.
"We were quite surprised the way the high priced stuff is being snapped up.
"All over there's demand.
"It's definitely busier than it's been [in years] but particularly in the high price.
"We are still getting people coming up from Christchurch [looking for rentals]."
"Everyone wants to be at the Mount, there's just not enough rentals there."
Commenting on the variation of prices in some suburbs for a three-bedroom home, he said there was a huge difference in quality.
"There night be an old 40s or 50s three-bedroom that is a dump compared with a modern three-bedroom apartment."
A Bay of Plenty Times Weekend survey of three-bedroom homes for rent on Trade Me this week found big variations within suburbs. In many cases, the cheapest rental properties in a suburb have had their rent dropped because the house is on the market, meaning instability for tenants.
In Bayfair, at the lower end $380 will get you a house on Matapihi Rd with a maximum of two tenants, while $585 gets you a two bathroom, fully fenced property on a private cul de sac near the golf course.
In Bethlehem, $340 will rent a three-bedroom apartment with two bathrooms, while a house with garage in a semi-rural setting on Cambridge Rd is asking for $475.
The city centre also sees wide variation in pricing - a dated basic three-bedroom home in Monmouth St is available for $360, while $420 gets a "stunning" apartment with two bathrooms and modern kitchen, and top dollar of $580 pays for an "executive" apartment with harbour/sea views in Devonport Towers.