Landlords profit as city rents jump 11pc

New data from Trade Me shows the country’s median weekly rent of $450 has not moved in the past six months.

But it is up 4.3 per cent, year-onyear, meaning landlords are earning a median $1000 extra.

‘‘I’m sure these numbers will be a relief for the many tenants who have felt big rises in recent years,’’ head of Trade Me Property Nigel Jeffries said.

‘‘They’ll be pleased to see the brakes have stayed on but not everyone will be happy as a number of regions are still seeing strong rent inflation.’’

Jeffries said there was still a large imbalance between demand and supply in urban Wellington.

‘‘Apartments, townhouses and units’ [rents] have all jumped more than 11 per cent in the last year.

‘‘Tenants looking for these properties are having to find a lot more money. In the case of units they’re paying over $1800 more a year and over $2300 more for apartments and townhouses.’’

Jeffries said year-on-year growth in asking rents in Auckland and Christchurch was less than the national increase.

Auckland’s median rent of $530 is the highest in the country but up 3.9 per cent, year-on-year.

Christchurch rents have not moved over the year and are down 2.5 per cent on the month before, to a median $390. The asking rent in Christchurch has only gone up $30 in the past five years.

The top-performing regions showed strong growth, including Northland, up 15.2 per cent, Waikato, up 8.3 per cent and Nelson, up 8.1 per cent. But the picture was inconsistent.

‘‘While some regions continue to grow solidly, the double-digit jumps we’ve been seeing have reduced significantly. For example, in the Bay of Plenty the median weekly rent leapt from around $350 in June 2015, blasted up to $400 a week in June 2016 and peaked at $450 in April this year,’’ Jeffries said.

‘‘But since then, it has plateaued and now sits at $430 a week, up just 2.4 per cent on a year ago. Tenants in the Bay will be pleased to hear the massive growth of recent years appears to be slowing for now.’’

Northland was the strongest performing region, with the median weekly rent jumping to a near-record $380 in June, and meaning tenants can expect to pay an additional $2500 a year to rent the typical property.

Nelson was the only region to hit a new record in June, hitting $400 a week and meaning tenants will be set to pay an extra $1500 more in rent per annum.

Meanwhile Taranaki, the West Coast and Marlborough were all unchanged year-on-year, and Canterbury was the only region to fall, dipping 1.3 per cent.