The rental housing pendulum swung further in tenants' favour in November, with the number of properties becoming available to rent hitting a record high while asking rents continued to decline.
Property website Realestate.co.nz received 7253 new rental listings in November, which was up 12.4% on November last year and was also the highest number of new rental listings the website has ever received in any month of the year.
While the number of properties available to rent has surged, their asking rents have headed in the opposite direction.
The national average asking rent for properties advertised on Realestate.co.nz has declined for four consecutive months, from $638 a week in July to $626 in November, a drop of $12 a week (-1.9%).
Compared to November, last year, the national average rent has declined by $20 a week (-3.1%) and is now $34 a week (-5.2%) lower than the peak of $660 a week in May 2024.
The biggest decline in asking rents in November was in the Wairarapa in the lower North Island, where the average asking rent declined from $566 in October to $522 in November, a drop of $44 a week (-7.8%) for the month, suggesting Santa could have arrived early for some renters this year.
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