Auckland's largest rental agency says more properties are being rented but rents aren't rising, some landlords not increasing rents to retain existing tenants

Auckland's largest residential rental management agency has reported strong rental activity in March, while rents remained largely flat.

Barfoot & Thompson let 716 rental properties in March this year, up 12% from March last year. That's the most properties the agency has newly tenanted in any month of the year since August 2023.

Barfoot's property managers were also kept busy fielding enquiries form prospective tenants and showing available rental properties, with the number of open homes, tenant viewings and tenancy applications all up by more than 20% in March year-on-year.

However, the higher levels of interest from prospective tenants did not result in higher rents.

The average weekly rent for Auckland properties managed by Barfoot & Thompson in March was $697 a week, unchanged over the previous three months, and up marginally by five dollars a week (0.8%) compared to March last year.

That suggests there was an adequate supply of rental properties to meet the higher level of interest from prospective tenants.

"Higher activity has not translated into sharply higher rent growth, which tells us this is still a price-sensitive market," Barfoot & Thompson General Manager for Property Management Anil Anna said.

"Renters remain disciplined, and landlords are having to meet the market if they want to secure tenants promptly," Anna said.

"People are taking their time, comparing options, and many are trying to find that sweet spot where they can reduce costs without compromising too much on space and practicality," he said.

Additionally, many landlords were opting not to increase rents when they came up for regular review, in order to retain existing tenants, he said.

Anna said rents for three bedroom houses were tending to hold up well, while newly built townhouses, particularly those without a garage or yard, were taking longer to rent and may need a reduction in their asking rents to find a tenant.