The median rent for a three bedroom house has increased by $27 a week over the last 12 months

Median housing rents dropped slightly last month but remain well up on where they were a year ago.

The latest figures collated from new tenancy bonds received by the Ministry of Business, Innovation & Employment, show the national median rent for three bedroom houses newly tenanted in March was $387 a week, compared with $390 a week in February.

However the March median was still up $27 a week (7.5%) compared to where it was in March last year, and up $62 a week (19%) compared to where it was in March 2011.

In Auckland the median rent for a newly tenanted three bedroom house dropped from $597 in February to $580 in March, while number of three bedroom houses for which bonds were received rose from 258 to 401.

However compared to a year ago, the median rent for a three bedroom house in Auckland was up by $30 a week (5.5%) and over the last four years, the median rent for a three bedroom house in Auckland has increased by $85 a week (17%).

In Wellington the median rent on three bedroom houses tenanted in March was $510 compared with $525 in February and in Christchurch it was unchanged at $450.

In Wellington the median rent on a three bedroom house was unchanged from a year earlier and up by $30 a week (6%) compared with 2011.

In Christchurch the median rent on a three bedroom house was up $10 a week compared with March last year and up $120 a week (36%) compared with March 2011.

See the table below for full details.