Rental stock levels and average rents almost unchanged from a year ago, meaning prospective tenants have plenty of choice

The rental housing market remained largely flat in June, despite a jump in the number of properties becoming available to rent.

Property website Realestate.co.nz had 8426 residential properties throughout the country available to rent at the end of June. That was down 67, or 0.8%, from 8493 in June last year.

The almost static supply of properties to rent was in spite of a 10% jump in the number of properties newly listed as available to rent in June. Realestate.co.nz received 6729 new rental listings in June compared to 6120 in June last year.

The fact the total stock of rental properties was almost flat while there was a sharp increase in new listings suggests a healthy supply of tenants signing up for rental properties.

Rents were also flat, with the national average asking rent on Realestate.co.nz up just $1 at $636 a week in June this year, from $635 in June last year.

Realestate.co.nz Chief Executive Sarah Wood said anecdotal evidence suggested one of the major reasons for the increase in new rental listings was the growing number of home owners heading overseas and choosing to rent their New Zealand property out rather than sell it.

"It's good news for tenants, who are seeing more choice than they have in some time," Wood said.

"For these owners, renting rather than selling also means they're not locking in a decision while they're settling in to a new country, they can always reassess down the track," she said.

The table below shows the movement in rents at the regional level over the year to June, while the chart shows the annual movement in the number of new listings.