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Rent increases strongest in the central North Island, weak in Wellington with a big decline in Queenstown

Property
Rent increases strongest in the central North Island, weak in Wellington with a big decline in Queenstown

Average residential rents across New Zealand have increased by $37 a week over the last year with the national average now sitting on exactly $500 a week.

Rent data compiled by interest.co.nz from bond data collected by Tenancy Services, shows the national average rent increased from $463 a week in the second quarter of last year to $500 a week in the second quarter this year. That's up 7.9% for the 12 months.

The biggest increase in dollar terms was in Papakura in south Auckland, where the average rent shot up by $70 a week, followed by Napier +$68 and Tauranga +$60.

The most expensive rents in the country are on Auckland's North Shore where the average was $613 a week, up $20 a week compared to a year earlier.

There a now three districts where average rents hit the $600 a week mark in the second quarter of this year, all of them in Auckland - North Shore, Rodney and Papakura.

A year ago there were none at $600 or more.

The biggest increases in percentage terms have occurred in the central North Island, where the annual increases have ranged from 12.3% in Hastings to 15.6% in Whanganui.

There were also five districts where average rents declined compared to a year ago - Central Auckland, Kapiti, Porirua, Upper Hutt and Queenstown-Lakes.

The biggest decline was in Queenstown-Lakes where it fell from $567 a week in the second quarter of last year to $520 in the second quarter of this year. That's a drop of $47 a week (-8.2%).

The decline of $3 a week in central Auckland was marginal and probably indicates rents in Auckland's central suburbs, which include the CBD, are  flat overall.

Compared to the rest of the country, rental growth was softest in the Wellington region, with small annual declines in Kapiti, Porirua and Upper Hutt and equally modest rises in Lower Hutt and Wellington City.

See the table blow for the annual changes in average rents in most major urban districts throughout NZ.

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Average Weekly Residential Rents
June Quarter 2020 - June Quarter 2021
  June 20 June 21 $ Change % Change
Whangarei District 440 489 49 11.2%
Rodney District 557 600 43 7.8%
Waitakere City 540 570 30 5.6%
North Shore City 593 613 20 3.4%
Auckland City 550 547 -3 -0.6%
Manukau City 550 593 43 7.9%
Papakura District 530 600 70 13.2%
Franklin District 490 543 53 10.9%
Hamilton City 447 470 23 5.2%
Tauranga District 508 568 60 11.8%
Rotorua District 417 474 58 13.8%
Napier City 440 508 68 15.5%
Hastings District 442 497 54 12.3%
New Plymouth District 387 439 52 13.4%
Palmerston North City 387 443 57 14.7%
Wanganui District 345 399 54 15.6%
Kapiti Coast District 469 461 -8 -1.8%
Porirua City 511 509 -2 -0.3%
Upper Hutt City 482 476 -7 -1.4%
Lower Hutt City 496 504 8 1.5%
Wellington City 536 546 9 1.7%
         
Ashburton District 339 371 32 9.4%
Christchurch City 395 422 27 6.8%
Rangitikei District 322 337 15 4.7%
Selwyn District 471 502 31 6.6%
Timaru District 337 357 20 5.9%
Nelson City 430 460 30 7.0%
Queenstown-Lakes District 567 520 -47 -8.2%
Dunedin City 390 407 17 4.3%
Invercargill City 317 355 38 11.9%
         
New Zealand 463 500 37 7.9%

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