‘Toughest rental market in 10 years’
Exhausted Airbnb operators leaving the short-stay market are giving Taupo¯ rental-seekers some respite.
However, the supply of rental homes is still far outstripped by demand.
Most Taupo¯ rentals spend less than a week on the market, Leanne Hall from The Property Store says.
‘‘We’re only having to show a property once.
‘‘Landlords now have plenty of tenants to choose from – and they’re quality tenants.’’
Many of the houses joining the rental market for the first time were previously holiday homes, Hall said.
‘‘Probably 80 per cent have said, ‘I’ve had it as a holiday home, but it’s just too hard. Can you just rent it out?’,’’ Hall said.
‘‘They’re wanting a consistent rental income – and for us to look after the rental.’’
Weariness of the short-terms bode well for long-term Taupo¯ renters, she said.
‘‘If that continues, we’ll be able to open up more and more rental properties.’’
With rental demand exceeding supply, prices were rising.
‘‘Rents are increasing and that isn’t deterring interest. All our rental viewings have been completely maxed out, with 20 tenants coming to every one,’’ she said.
‘‘We hear about a property on Monday; we have ten applications by Thursday night and have it tenanted by Friday morning.’’
While bidding wars between competitive applicants didn’t appear to be happening, some were offering three-months rent in advance, she said.
Property Store managing director Jane Bennett said the market was getting tougher for tenants, with so few listings.
‘‘We need those holiday houses, sitting empty, to come on the market for families.’’
While a handful of houses were coming on to the market each week in January, December had been dead quiet, she said.
‘‘No stock, no listings, no phone calls, and no houses to rent. We had the quietest December for four years,’’ she said.
‘‘This is our tenth year of business. It’s never been as bad as this.’’
Tenants wanting to impress should ensure they ‘‘have all their ducks lined up’’, she said.
‘‘Have all the information that the property manager would want to see ready.’’