A shortage of available rental properties at the higher-priced end of the market has those in the real estate business desperately searching for homes for families wanting to move to Wanganui.
Landlord Link's Tracey Onishenko, who is trying to find homes for 12 families about to make a new start in the city, describes the situation as "chronic".
She has even started knocking on doors of homes up for sale to see if they would be willing to rent them out instead.
"There are doctors coming from England and America, three families from Christchurch, professional people from Auckland, migrants from England ... they are willing to pay $400 to $450 a week. I'm getting desperate.
"I mean, it's great for Wanganui that these people want to come and live here, but it's not a good look if there's not a nice home for them to live [in]."
A spokesman for Professionals said he had five families on his books looking for higher-priced rentals.
He said demand was driven by a desire to live in a particular school zone, such as St John's Hill.
A rental agent for LJ Hooker said it was true higher quality rentals were scarce.
"I wouldn't say people are getting frustrated but they are being disappointed.
"We had two available for $300 and $330 and they went in a matter of days. It all depends on the location.
"I know of a person who owns a seven-bedroom property looking to rent it to someone willing to pay $500 a week."
She said the highest-priced weekly rental on her books at present was $295.
Ross Watson of The Watsons said there was a shortage of good quality rentals, mainly because many landlords were not prepared to run them at a loss since the removal of a tax incentive for investors two years ago.
"It's different if you bought the property with cold, hard cash but if you have borrowed money ..."
He said many tenants had become choosey about what type of property they wanted to rent.
"They want good grounds, good heating and they want the property to be neat and tidy."
A spokesperson for The Rent Centre was taken aback when told of the high demand.
"I find it hard to believe. We did have a property go for $350 recently but there has been been little interest of late in properties in the higher bracket.
"About a year ago we had a beautiful property on the edge of Virginia Lake going for $400 a week, but it sat there for months and months."
Meanwhile, Wanganui rents remain firm in a tough housing market.
Rents are based on the number of bedrooms in a property, with a one-bedroom property commanding anything from $70 to $110 a week, and increasing from there.
Wanganui Budget Advisory Service co-ordinator Sandy Fage said the reality for Wanganui's low-income earners or beneficiaries was that rent could be as much as 70 per cent of their weekly income.
Ms Fage also said some rental accommodation in Wanganui was "not very nice".
"There could be holes in the floorboards or the house is cold, which costs more on top of the rent to keep the residents warm."
Ms Fage said she saw a young woman recently who wanted to rent a flat but the cost of $190 a week was the same amount as her income. At first glance, taking in a boarder may seem attractive to a householder, but for some there were the realities of sharing with strangers that further down the track might not be so appealing, Ms Fage said.
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