Renters stung by price hike

Northland rental property increased from $295 per week in February 2014 to $310 last month. Photo / File

Northlanders are being hit by rising rental property prices, according to figures.

Trade Me's February property index showed the median price of a Northland rental property increased from $295 per week in February 2014 to $310 last month.

In Whangarei, the median rent increased from $295 to $320 year-on-year and in the Far North rent increased from $275 to $300. In Kaipara, median rent decreased from $310 in February 2014 to $270.

Janet Pitman, of Judy Morgan Property Management & Rentals, said growing demand was pushing up rent prices.

"The amount of people enquiring about properties has been amazing.

"We're still getting quite a few people who have come from Auckland and other parts of the country, and quite a few who have come back from Australia."

A lot of people were wanting to move to better properties, she said.

"We're close enough to winter that people have started thinking about what their place will be like then. Quite a few people have been wanting to move to better areas or to better properties in an area so they're better set for the winter months."

Landlords, who had previously withheld rent rises were catching up, she said.

"A lot of landlords kept their prices down because they had good tenants and they wanted to keep those tenants happy, but now they want to make up for some of their costs.

"We've had to notify quite a few of our tenants that their rents are going to go up."

Ms Pitman didn't expect rents to increase much more in coming months, however. "We don't have the incomes that people in Auckland have. It will get to a certain point where landlords won't be able to put the rents up any more."

Nationally, weekly rents rose 6.5 per cent year-on-year to a median rent of $410 a week.

Head of Trade Me Property Nigel Jeffries said the rental market had tipped in favour of landlords.

"There is strong demand from tenants, but supply is tight," he said.