12 July 2022
Change Is Afoot in the New Zealand Rental Market
As property managers, we’re seeing a change in the rental market, particularly in the main centres. Landlords and property managers around the country are noticing that quality tenants are becoming harder to come by.
It’s become a tenant’s market and the key factors contributing to this situation are:
- a lack of international students
- an influx of accidental landlords in the market (landlords who haven’t been able to sell their property and have reverted to putting it into the rental pool)
- A lack of international tourists that is resulting in properties that would normally be listed as Airbnbs remaining in the rental pool
- The intensification and completion of new houses hitting the rental market.
With so many available rental listings, tenants have more options and are being more selective about the properties they are applying for. Here are a few examples of what we’ve seen in the rental market lately:
- Up to 80% of prospective tenants who book in for a viewing, do not show up on the day.
- An Auckland listing required eight separate viewings before suitable tenants were signed (for the same property, historically, two viewings were enough to sign suitable tenants).
- An Onehunga property has just been leased for $495 per week. This is a 15% drop from its usual rental price of $570 per week.
- Other areas throughout New Zealand, that have had a long-standing shortage of rental stock, are also seeing levels of enquiry drop off.
For more insight into how the rental market is changing, check out this recent article by Stuff.co.nz.