Property Brokers Wairarapa manager Guy Mordaunt said the biggest factor affecting rent increases in the Wairarapa was the outweighing of demand over supply.
"There is very little supply of new properties in the market," he said. "The election and talk of a capital gains tax meant few investors were coming into the market."
Increasing rates and insurance costs for landlords had also contributed to rent increases, he said.
Mr Mordaunt said inflation might cause rent to increase gradually, but he did not expect major increases.
Nationally, the average rent for a three-bedroom house was up $15 year-on-year to $379 per week. A three-bedroom flat was up $11 to $381 on average, while three-bedroom apartments were down by $11 to an average price of $527.
Apartments were also the most expensive mean property type for four bedrooms - up $84 to $669 per week, compared to a $52 increase to $490 for a house.
The most expensive average weekly rent was for a five or more bedroom apartment where rent increased by more than $50 to an average of $746.
Tenants Protection Association manager Helen Gatonyi said she wasn't surprised by the rent increases, as it was common for the association to hear of tenants whose rents had increased by $20 or $30, or in some cases, by $100 or more.
Landlords claimed they had kept rents down during tough economic conditions and were now just catching up, she said.
"In some cases, landlords have kept prices down and now brought them up to a realistic level, taking into account rate and insurance costs, but altogether there is overwhelming evidence that there's plenty who are just taking the opportunity to make an extra quid.
"The reality for many of those tenants is that they are simply getting further and further into debt and aren't able to sustain it."
This had contributed to a big gap in disposable income for a lot of people, she said.
It was likely rents would continue to increase as supply and demand was still a huge issue that would not settle down any time soon, she said.
An August survey of landlords by Crockers Property Group found rates increases were the factor most likely to trigger a rent rise, but other costs such as insurance, property maintenance and interest rates were also relevant.
The survey found half of landlords were not planning to raise rents in the following six months, but more than one-third planned to put them up by at least 3 per cent. NZME.
