Taupo faces big shortage of rentals

With scores of people flooding into rental viewings, and a growing waiting list, finding an affordable place to live in Taupo is harder than ever.

Realestate.co.nz and TradeMe have fewer than 20 properties each across all of Taupo for a rental price of less than $500 a week.

Westerman Property Solutions said there have been some weeks when their company has had no houses available at all.

‘‘We would normally have about 20 properties ourselves to rent at any time but at the moment we have five or below,’’ Ben Westerman said.

‘‘Where we used to have one or two people attending a viewing we are now getting eight or nine.’’

Westerman said one reason for the shortage is the heating property market. He said many owners have chosen to sell and were now renting properties but he stressed that now was actually a good time to reap returns in the rental market.

‘‘With what the banks are offering it’s a great opportunity to be in the rental investment game,’’ he said. ‘‘You can get better bang for your buck.’’ Across New Zealand rental prices have hit record highs with a figures from the Trade Me Rental Index showing the median weekly rent jumped to a record $450, up 7.1 per cent, nationally at the end of last year.

Trade Me Property head Nigel Jeffries said he expects to see further jumps in January, when many tenancies came up for renewal and landlords reassessed prices.

‘‘Typically December is reasonably quiet as everyone winds down into the Christmas period, but this December we saw rents jump 7.1 per cent on a year ago – the largest monthly change we’ve observed all year,’’ he said.

Waikato was one of the regions with the highest change in rental prices, growing 11.4 per cent on last year.

While prices are higher than usual it has had little effect on demand with competition fierce for rental homes.

In such a competitive market Westerman said it is important for people looking for properties to keep their eye on the ball if looking for properties. . ‘‘It is a case of first in first served so you have to keep checking.’’