Auck rents hit $605/week average
Tenants in south pay 4.8% more but agency says overall rents barely moving
Auckland rents rose nearly 3 per cent annually, having exceeded $600 per week average in April, with some areas more pricey than others. Data from Barfoot & Thompson, which manages more than 16,500 properties, shows a new $605 per week average rent at the end of June.
The biggest rent rise in the past year was South Auckland, up 4.8 per cent to reach an average $554/week.
West Auckland rents rose 4.2 per cent to $560/week, and Rodney rose 4.1 per cent to $607/week.
Kiri Barfoot, a Barfoot director, said increases had mostly hovered around 2 and 3 per cent annually in the past few years, except when the Government froze rents last year. Rents were hardly moving, she said.
“June’s figure represents a 0.3 per cent increase on May’s average, or around $2 more per week,” she said.
Annually, Auckland rents across all suburbs rose 2.9 per cent — only about $17 more a week, Barfoot said.
“However, what has altered over time are the drivers behind the changes, which can cycle between housing types, sizes, and locations and depend on multiple factors.
“Over the past couple of quarters rents in some of the higher-priced areas, like the Eastern Suburbs and now the North Shore, have become more static, while the lower-priced areas of South Auckland, West Auckland and Rodney are now rising more quickly. For example, Rodney has seen significant migration and development recently. Just two years ago it was seeing relatively little movement, under 2 per cent, but is now well over double that rate.”
South and west rents had risen faster than other areas but they’re still the cheapest behind rural Manukau/ Franklin, Barfoot said.
The typical three-bedroom rental remains the most popular and avail
able option and has also experienced slightly higher than average weekly rent increases at 3.6 per cent, she said.
Last month, the Herald found relentless rent rises throughout NZ.
Auckland edges Wellington as the most expensive city for tenants but rents in the capital have risen more in real terms since 2000.
Official Government data shows Auckland’s average residential rent was $250/week in 2000. Adjusted for inflation, this comes to $388 per week in 2021 dollars. That represents a 45 per cent increase in real terms.
Renters United wants controls.