Auckland rents rise an average of $5 a week in June

The median Auckland rent rose by another $5 a week in June to $495 per week, figures released by TradeMe show.

The median Auckland rent rose by another $5 a week in June to $495 per week, figures released by TradeMe show.

This represents a premium of $7,020 per annum for tenants in New Zealand's largest city.

Head of Trade Me Property, Nigel Jeffries, said the median weekly rent for an Auckland property rose by 7.6 per cent over the past year, up $35 per week year-on-year.

"The rental market in the City of Sails is humming the same tune as the city's for sale market, and contrasts with the rest of the country where median rents are more subdued."

The Trade Me Property Rental Price Index measures trends in median weekly rents for residential properties on Trade Me Property rented out by real estate property managers and private landlords over the past month.

Around 11,000 rental properties are let out via Trade Me Property each month. This month's edition also sets out information distinguishing between the Auckland market and the rest of the

Auckland rents have shown a significantly higher increase over the first half of 2015 when compared to the latter half of 2014.

"In 2014, rents were rising at an annual rate of around 2 per cent a year, but the first six months of 2015 have upped the ante with rents rising at an average of 6 per cent, and they're now heading toward 8 per cent in the year to June," Mr. Jeffries said.

"The median weekly rent for an Auckland tenant is now over $25,740 compared to just under $24,000 per annum in June 2014."

The median Auckland weekly rent has risen by 23.8 per cent over the past five years from $400 in 2010 to $495 in June, adding just under $5,000 to the annual cost of renting an Auckland property.

"A $95 jump in weekly rental costs isn't trivial, but pales into insignificance when compared to the 62 per cent rise in expected selling price for Auckland properties over the same period," Mr Jeffries said.