Listings and enquiries on Trade Me Property show demand from tenants for rental properties across New Zealand is lagging behind a rise in supply, except for in central Auckland, Trade Me Property said.
Supply turned the corner in the last quarter of 2010 after a period of decline and was now taking off, Trade Me Property head Brendon Skipper said. Rental property listings supply rose 11% nationally in the last quarter from a year ago. Demand nationally fell 1% from a year ago.
“Over the past three months in cities like Tauranga, Dunedin, Hamilton and Wellington we’ve seen the number of properties up for rent outstripping demand from prospective tenants," Skipper said.
However, supply in Auckland was tight and down 13% in the last quarter, while demand had risen 18%.
“Anyone who has been reading media coverage in recent months knows Auckland is tough if you’re looking for a place to rent at the moment. Average weekly rent across the city is up 7% on a year ago, and it’s inevitable that will continue to rise if demand stays crazy and supply stays low," Skipper said.
Tenants in central Auckland may instead look for homes in Manukau and North Shore where supply was up 10% and 6% respectively.
"With demand down in the past quarter, landlords in those cities would undoubtedly welcome interest from potential tenants," Skipper said.
In Wellington and Dunedin, the traditional New Year surge in demand was over with both regions now in a position of oversupply.
“Students at Victoria and Otago, and public sector workers from the capital have found their flats and settled in for the year, so in these cities landlords have a harder job filling their properties than three months ago," Skipper said.
In Christchurch, the earthquake had left a limited number of properties available for rent and anything available was being tenanted quickly. The number of enquiries from prospective tenants had increased 7% on a year ago, but there was little evidence landlords were taking advantage of the disaster.
“Any vultures must be few and far between because although average weekly rent has gone up 5% compared with a year ago, Christchurch is only slightly ahead of the national average of 3%. To put this in perspective, that lags the entire Auckland region, Palmerston North and Rotorua.”
|
% change: Q1 2011 vs. Q1 2010 |
|||
|
Area |
Supply |
Rent per week |
Demand |
|
Auckland City |
- 13% |
7% |
18% |
|
Manukau City |
10% |
8% |
- 4% |
|
North Shore City |
6% |
8% |
- 1% |
|
Waitakere City |
1% |
6% |
10% |
|
Christchurch City |
0% |
5% |
7% |
|
Dunedin |
9% |
2% |
- 11% |
|
Hamilton |
20% |
4% |
- 11% |
|
Wellington City |
17% |
- 2% |
- 8% |
|
Lower Hutt |
16% |
- 0% |
- 15% |
|
National |
11% |
3% |
- 1% |
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