Renting in River City gets more costly

Photo/File

The average cost of renting most homes in Wanganui is up from a year ago, figures show.

A standard three-bedroom house was up by $13 to an average rent of $229, according to data obtained from the Ministry of Innovation, Business and Employment.

The figures are from the six months from April to September and are compared with the same period last year.

The biggest rent increase was for a three-bedroom flat, rising $28 to $195. Two- and four-bedroom mean house rents also increased slightly, while the mean rent for a two-bedroom flat decreased by $4 to $164.

Landlords Link managing director Tracey Onishenko said more homes had been put out for rent at the top end of the market, which had brought average house prices up.

"People are choosing to rent, rather than buy, because paying rent is cheaper than having a mortgage," she said.

Some people had moved to Wanganui for work, but were only planning to stay for two or three years and did not want to enter the housing market.

There were also many retired couples who went travelling and rented out their houses, she said.

In some parts of Wanganui, such as Castlecliff, rent had decreased as there was an over-supply of properties.

Ms Onishenko expected average rents to continue to rise as more high-end properties became available for rent.

Nationally, the average rent for a three-bedroom house was up $15 year-on-year to $379 per week. A three-bedroom flat was up $11 to $381, while three-bedroom apartments were down by $11 to $527.

Apartments were also the most expensive mean property type for four bedrooms, up $84 to $669 per week, compared to a $52 increase to $490 for a house and dollar increase to $470 for a flat.

Tenants Protection Association manager Helen Gatonyi said she wasn't surprised by the increases, as it was common for the association to hear of tenants whose rents had increased by $20 or $30, or in some cases, by $100 or more.