America's Cup adds to central city rent squeeze

By ANNE GIBSON

Rents for upmarket Auckland properties are soaring.

One suburban home has been let for $3000 a week, and people seeking central-city accommodation face waiting lists.

Even a one-bedroom, unfurnished, lower-level apartment in an inner-city block is likely to cost $450 a week - if it can be found and won ahead of newly arriving members of America's Cup syndicates.

Auckland already has a shortage of quality rental properties, says John Crocker, director of Bayleys Property Management, one of the largest property rental specialists in the city.

He said rentals had risen 10 per cent this year because of demands for properties near the central business district.

Most popular areas are Herne Bay, Ponsonby, St Marys Bay and the fringe localities of Parnell, Mission Bay and Kohimarama.

In the past month alone, Bayleys has rented a four-bedroom, three-bathroom house on the northern slopes in Remuera for $3000 a week. Another Remuera house went for $2400 a week.

"We're doing a lot of corporate rentals at the moment and most above $1000," Mr Crocker said.

"If you arrived in Auckland today and said, 'Look, I'm in a hotel room and I want a nice two-bedroom apartment for $500 a week', I would say I can't do that because I don't have anything coming up until September 25."

Bayleys Property Management has already rented at least 20 properties on long-term leases to people associated with the America's Cup, although racing is not due to start for a year.

Most of the crews and staff from the 10 challenger syndicates are expected to arrive during the next few weeks for summer.

Mr Crocker estimated the occupancy rate for inner-city rental houses and apartments was between 98 per cent and 99 per cent, and said no type of property in the city was proving difficult to rent.

Rental properties is going so quickly that Bayleys is not posting them on its website.