The cost of renting somewhere to live in Auckland has increased by 8.4% in the last 12 months, according to Trade Me Property.
The median asking rent for Auckland homes advertised on the website was just $1 short of $500 a week in August, up 8.4% compared to August last year.
That is in stark contrast to the median asking rents in Wellington, which were unchanged from a year ago, and those in Christchurch which were down 4.7% compared to August last year.
"Median asking rents in Auckland have rocketed up," the head of Trade Me Property, Nigel Jeffries said.
"You're now looking at $499 per week for a typical [Auckland] property, taking annual rent costs close to $26,000, about $2000 more than a year ago.
"It piles more pressure onto the cost of living for tenants," he said.
The biggest increases in Auckland were for apartments, which had an average asking rent of $460 in August, up 12.2% compared with a year ago.
That was followed by townhouses which were up 10% to $550 a week, 1-2 bedroom houses which were up 8.6% to $413, and home units which were up 8.1% to $400 (see chart below).
The smallest increases were for large houses with five or more bedrooms which were up by 3.5% to $735, and 3-4 bedroom houses which were up 5.8% to $550 a week.
In Christchurch, the biggest fall in median asking rents was for 3-4 bedroom houses, which were down 7% for the year to $465 a week, followed by large houses with five or more bedrooms which were down 3.6% to $675, while townhouses declined by 3.4% to $430, and home units which were down 2.9% to $330.
Jeffries said asking rents in Christchurch had declined for three months in a row.
"The Christchurch rental market was extremely hot two years ago, with asking rents rising more than 13% year on year," Jeffries said.
"In March this year it peaked at a weekly rent of $495 to surpass Auckland, but across the remainder of 2015 we've seen rents ease right back and Christchurch tenants are now being asked to pay $3400 less a year."
Across the whole country the median asking rent for all types of homes was $420 a week in August, up 5% compared to August last year.
But when Auckland listings were excluded from those figures, the median asking rent for the rest of New Zealand was $360 a week, up 2.9% compared to a year earlier.
We welcome your comments below. If you are not already registered, please register to comment
Remember we welcome robust, respectful and insightful debate. We don't welcome abusive or defamatory comments and will de-register those repeatedly making such comments. Our current comment policy is here.