Flat-hunters face desperate summer with rental stock cut in half

Residential rental stock halved in the past year and demand from tenants is outstripping supply with predictions that people will find it increasingly hard to find a place, according to Trade Me Property.

In Auckland, rental stock volumes have plummeted by 35 per cent since October last year and prices are rising.

Trade Me Property head Nigel Jeffries said tenants were finding competition stiff: “If this trend continues, things are going to be very tough for a huge number of renters, particularly students, who will be hunting flats in summer.

“The number of available rentals in the Super City dropped 35 per cent on last October and we are beginning to see the effect on prices.”

The median weekly rent in Auckland rose 2.9 per cent in the past year to $525 last month.

“Rents in Auckland have remained relatively steady for two years, holding around the $500 to $530 mark, but if this shortage . . . continues we can expect to see new record rental prices,” Jeffries said.

Christchurch had 59 per cent fewer rentals last month compared with October last year. The median rent fell 1.3 per cent annually to $395.

Trade Me did not cite any specific reasons for the big volume drops. But short-term holiday-style rentals such as Airbnb and fewer landlords buying investment properties because of new tax regulations are thought by others to have pushed rental stock down.

Trade Me said Wellington rental stock available fell 69 per cent and Jeffries said this was the most extreme: “Wellington appears to be worst hit by this rental pinch, which is worrying news for those flat-hunting.”

Yet the city’s median weekly rent was unchanged for the eighth consecutive month at $450. — Anne Gibson