That slowing of the increase was noted in the previous quarter to September, when rents were up 4.81% compared with the corresponding quarter in 2023.
Sykes said: “The average cost to rent a home in New Zealand’s biggest city continued to rise throughout 2024. In early 2024, tension between high demand and constrained supply was intensified by factors like the return of long-term visitors and international students to the city, record-high net migration and even the ongoing impact of 2023’s extreme weather events.”
Average weekly rents on places the agency manages were $663 in December 2023, up 5.3% on the 2022 year.
In the June quarter last year, rents were $678 a week, by September $685 and by December $689.
Samantha Arnold, who previously headed the agency’s property management division, has now left the business.
The agency said rental data presented today was for existing and newly signed tenancies.
Table prepared by Barfoot & Thompson showing changes in Auckland rents for 2024.
Where did rents rise the fastest?
Franklin/Manukau rural rents rose the fastest last year, up 5% in the year to December, with an average $691 a week for a three-bedroom place. This area had been one of the more affordable previously.
Last year, Arnold said the least expensive area to rent in Auckland was Franklin and rural Manukau, where rents averaged only $586 a week.
The second-fastest rising rents were in south Auckland, up 4.7% annually to an average $643 for three bedrooms.
Rents in central Auckland west rose the least, up 2.78% last year, the agency’s data showed.
Patterns emerging?
Sykes said that, since mid-2024, the Auckland rental market had begun to level out.
He noted the continued decline in net migration and decreasing arrivals and increasing departures, which meant an easing of demand.
“It is likely new supply is coming to the market from some property-owners listing their homes for rent while overseas.”
The agency has 65 branches managing properties in Northland, Auckland, the Waikato and the Bay of Plenty.
“Our property managers tell us an overriding sentiment from many in late 2024 was ‘we’re just going to get through Christmas’, with people prioritising their end-of-year finances over the added cost of moving house.
“This likely subdued activity in the last few months of the year, delaying the typical upswing in activity we usually see in spring. Property managers have been reporting a noticeable shift since late December, with more looking for new properties and attending property viewings.”
Between mid-December and mid-January, Barfoot & Thompson received an average of nearly 900 rental inquiries a day more than 100 rental applications a day.
National rent picture
Trade Me also released its rental price index today.
Rents in Otago surged 4.2% from last November to December, according to Trade Me customer director Gavin Lloyd.
Hawke’s Bay median weekly rents rose 3.2%. Northland recorded a 1.7% increase in the same two months.
Wellington weekly rents remained the same at $650.
Marlborough and Manawatu rents saw no change.
Auckland and the Bay of Plenty had a fall of 1.5% in rents from November to December.
The index is produced from Trade Me Property data of properties that have been listed for rent on the site in the month by property managers and landlords.
On average, more than 18,000 rental properties are listed each month, Trade Me says.
Median weekly rents for properties with five or more bedrooms fell, particularly in Wellington and Auckland, dropping 8.7% $1200 and $1050.
Median weekly rents for three- and four-bedroom properties remained largely unchanged.
The number of listings fluctuates in different areas but was strongest last year in Marlborough, up 93%. Rents were relatively affordable at $550 a week, which could attract people, Lloyd thinks.
The volume of rental properties listed on Trade Me for Hawke’s Bay rose 83% last year compared with 2023, followed by a 72% increase on the West Coast.
Anne Gibson has been the Herald’s property editor for 24 years, written books and covered property extensively here and overseas.
