Advertised housing rents were down 3.1% overall in January compared to a year earlier, according to Trade Me Property.
The national median asking rent for residential rental properties advertised on the website was $620 a week in January, unchanged from December last year, but down $20 a week (-3.1%) compared to January last year.
The five main urban regions - Auckland, Waikato, Bay of Plenty, Wellington and Canterbury, plus Hawke's Bay, Taranaki and Marlborough, all posted annual declines in their median rents. Northland, Nelson/Tasman and Otago, posted annual declines. See the chart below for the full regional figures.
The biggest annual decline was in the Wellington region, where the median advertised rent was down $50 a week (-7.4%) in January compared to a year earlier.
"Nationally we saw tenant demand spike by 41% compared with December, but this was met with a 45% surge in the number of properties for rent," Trade Me property spokesperson Casey Wylde said.
"This balance between supply and demand is a major contributor to the current pricing stability," she said.
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