The December quarter saw a big year-on-year increase in residential rental activity, while the rents being charged were slightly softer overall.
According to the latest tenancy bond data from Tenancy Services, the national median rent for properties rented in the fourth quarter (Q4) last year was $595 a week. That's down from $600 a week in Q4 2024 (-0.8%).
However, the big movement was in the number of properties tenanted, with Tenancy Services receiving 40,344 bonds from throughout the country in Q4 last year, up 15.1%.
Around New Zealand, median rents in Q4 declined in nine districts, increased in 12 and were unchanged in seven.
Rents were weakest in the Wellington region, with falls ranging from $53 a week in Upper Hutt to $15 a week in Masterton.
Kapiti Coast was the only Wellington district to record an annual increase in median rent, of $5 a week.
The biggest annual increase in rent was in Whanganui, where the median rent increased to $520 from $488, up $32 a week (6.6%).
The increase in rental activity was far more dramatic, with all districts apart from Tauranga recording an annual increase in bonds received in Q4 last year, and in most cases the increases were substantial.
The annual percentage increases in bond numbers were well into double digits in most districts, with Tauranga, Kapiti and Dunedin the only districts not to record double digit annual percentage increases.
The fact that rental activity has increased as a much greater pace than rents suggests there is a healthy supply of rental properties and tenants have plenty of choice.
That is supported by a recent report from property website Realestate.co.nz which showed the number of new rental listings received by the website at the start of this year was up 12.8% compared to a year earlier.
See the chart below for median rent and bond data for major urban districts throughout the country.
Q4 2025 Median Residential Rents and Tenancy Bonds by District
Compared to Q4 2024
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