Properties available to rent on Realestate.co.nz at 10-year high

Property / news

More residential properties available to rent while rents are falling with huge improvement in rental availability and affordability in Wellington, Realestate.co.nz says

9th Feb 26, 10:46am by Greg Ninness

The number of residential properties newly listed for rent on property website Realestate.co.nz hit a 10-year high in January.

Realestate.co.nz saw new rental listings rise 12.8%, year-on-year, in January to 7224.

That's the highest number of new listings Realestate.co.nz has received in the month of January since it began publishing the figures in 2016.

Around the main centres, the biggest increase in new listings was in Wellington, where they were up 54% compared to January 2025.

New listings were up in all regions except Coromandel, Gisborne, West Coast and Otago, while listings in Waikato were almost unchanged with a decrease of just 0.2%. See the chart below for the full regional figures.

January's listings pushed the total stock of available rental properties on Realestate.co.nz to 7830 at the end of January, up 9.8% compared to the same time last year.

However, while the number of properties available to rent has been increasing, the average asking rents have headed in the opposite direction.

The average advertised rent on Realestate.co.nz was $634 a week in January, down $12 a week from $646 in January last year.

In the main centres, the biggest overall easing in the market was in the Wellington region, where the total stock of available rental properties on Realestate.co.nz in January was up 46% compared to January last year, while the average asking rent declined by $65 a week (-9%) over the same period.

The latest figures suggest finding a rental property has become easier and slightly more affordable for tenants in most parts of the country at the start of of this year, but of course the news is not so good for landlords.

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23 Comments

by JimboJones | 9th Feb 26, 10:50am 1770587401

Wow! So is this because of all the new terraced houses? Or just due to people leaving?

And if cheap housing is what attracts young people, why aren't a ton of Aussies coming here to take advantage of these cheaper rents?

by IT GUY | 9th Feb 26, 11:43am 1770590594

Its a combination of building stock for sale (some will be entering rental market especially if vendor is now offshore), less migrants, more uni students studying local to their own uni and living at home to save money. also more leaving, and a lot of unsold terrace shitboxes now to let to provide sinking developers some cashflow.

Aussies will not come here to lose 20% of wages and also lose 12% super contribs, you must be joking.

by JimboJones | 9th Feb 26, 11:51am 1770591074

You're right, I was joking. People are leaving NZ for higher wages, not because our houses are too expensive. But most commentators here like to blame the ponzi.

by Averageman | 9th Feb 26, 12:54pm 1770594894

Without hyperinflation employers can't match Aussie. So.. what's the one thing that loads up everything else and is artificially pumped up....you got it. Shelter.

All the money chasing tax avoided capital gains has pushed it out of balance. Add in the youth now facing the tax burden of aging population it's an easy call. Flights to Stray are so cheap and there is the relocation bonus paid by many Aussie employers so it's essentially free.

by ghytresd | 10th Feb 26, 1:28am 1770640128

If home ownership was more easily accessible we could pin them down here.

I'm sure many appreciate the flexibility of not owning so they can chase $$ over the ditch though

by Independent_Observer | 9th Feb 26, 11:16am 1770588993

"but of course the news is not so good for landlords"

Well after 30 years of always good news for landlords, who often gloated about how wealthy they were becoming via their rental property portfolios, and how they were simultaneously doing Gods work of charity by providing housing for 'poor people' ie their mortgage serfs while outbidding the same people at auctions using capital gains in previously own properties as the deposit for their new rental (income stream), while claiming the reason house prices were going up was because of a demand/supply imbalance (which they were creating by buying more houses than what they needed for themselves), then one can only conclude that a period of bad times could be the worlds way of providing balance back into what had become an extremely one sided equation (where the rich were getting richer, and the poor more and more hopeless).

by JimboJones | 9th Feb 26, 11:25am 1770589504

I really don't know why many of them are still going. The yield is often pathetic and the asset is not appreciating. And even worse if you can't find a tenant. They really must believe that good times are just around the corner, in it for the long term, etc. They could be right I guess...

by Averageman | 9th Feb 26, 1:02pm 1770595341

I guess the tax free money made has made speculators lazy. They can't think of anything else as they haven't needed to. All good while it works, rinse and repeat.

Until it dosent...

🍿

by JimboJones | 9th Feb 26, 1:12pm 1770595935

Rental near us was vacant for probably 6 months. They lowered the rent and had it painted, now tenanted, but that is a lot of time to be making no return on a million bucks plus paying rates, advertising fees, etc. I talked to the former tenants, they had moved across the road into a nice insulated brand new terrace that had cheaper rent.

Surely there must be a lot of regret that they didn't sell in 2021!

by IT GUY | 9th Feb 26, 1:44pm 1770597855

They tell themselves that they have not lost money until they sell it.

No concept of mark to market risk management.

by interesting1234 | 9th Feb 26, 1:58pm 1770598690

Now's the time to sell if you own Ozzy property. I can't se their market maintaining current trends for more than 1-2 years, but I could be wrong.

by JimboJones | 9th Feb 26, 2:21pm 1770600073

Sooner or later the government will have to force councils to allow building. Then prices will slip like they have here.

by interesting1234 | 9th Feb 26, 1:56pm 1770598619

I really don't know why many of them are still going. The yield is often pathetic and the asset is not appreciating.

It is for many looking to get into property investment now, but for those who bought a couple pre-2020 and already have a decent chunk of mortgage paid down from rent, it won't matter at all to them. Worst they have to do is sell one house to pay down the rest and they still get better yield with lower mortgage left to pay. Then you have the children to inherit likely some of these portfolios over time and exacerbate the wealth inequality... if they don't squander it that is.

by JimboJones | 9th Feb 26, 2:16pm 1770599793

That's like keeping a share that made a good profit in the past even if it looks like it will be a dud in the future. No point in keeping an investment just because you can, you need to have a belief that it will still make a decent return, otherwise sell and invest in something else.

So I guess they still believe in property, maybe in the longer term, but I am not that convinced unless immigration picks up a lot.

by interesting1234 | 10th Feb 26, 10:27am 1770672467

No point in keeping an investment just because you can

Au contraire, it's very worthwhile if you are retired and the weekly rental income is more valuable to maintain lifestyle than the value of your property which, if owned for a decade or two, has already doubled in value so it's a win either way for em.

by Cote d'Azur | 9th Feb 26, 1:07pm 1770595667

Mortgage serfs how evocative!

🥂

by IT GUY | 9th Feb 26, 11:45am 1770590708

Luckily in WGTN, even though rents are falling, a caring council is not putting rates up too much (sarc).

Banks also putting boot in re rates rising.

Landlords are Doing God's Work to provide cheap housing.

by Cote d'Azur | 9th Feb 26, 12:40pm 1770594018

Auckland average rents crash 1.8% or $12

Quick run for the exits!

🥂

by Averageman | 9th Feb 26, 1:48pm 1770598121

No income is said to the music of "burning down the house". When will banks do their job and act (flush the over leveraged). What are they afraid of?

The truth.

by interesting1234 | 9th Feb 26, 1:59pm 1770598741

The truth doesn't do well for the banks, and turkeys don't vote for xmas.

by Averageman | 9th Feb 26, 3:55pm 1770605722

If the 600k kiwis in Aussie who can still vote here actually voted, they could actually drive meaningful anti ponzi tax avoided change. Most of those I've talked to cannot be arsed.

Those that can't be arsed to become Aussies will fine it very different when they return for their free pension.

Oh wait....they dont qualify for one.

by interesting1234 | 10th Feb 26, 10:30am 1770672614

That's an interesting point. Those I know over there will vote based on what benefits them. For homeowners who have moved there and are in negative equity for their NZ house, they'll vote to keep the status quo as they feel jilted, but those who are renting and don't have such shackles, are struggling to see any visionary party to vote for - and more often than not see Chloe as an effective leader that needs a different party.

by Averageman | 9th Feb 26, 5:06pm 1770610006

Stats suggest 22,000 mortgages overdue. Then theres the credit card merry go around.