Rotorua's median weekly rent dropped $30 in the month to April, new data shows. Photo / Getty Images
Rotorua's median weekly rent has dropped $30 in the month to April, new data shows.
Trade Me's April Rental Price Index shows Rotorua's median weekly rent was $500.
That was a four per cent increase compared with April last year, but five per cent less than the $530 median weekly rent in March this year.
Trade Me property sales director Gavin Lloyd said the last time the median weekly rent dropped in a month was in December 2021, when it fell eight per cent from $520 to $480.
Lloyd said Rotorua's rental market supply dropped 25 per cent last month.
Demand also dropped 14 per cent year on year in April.
"With demand in the Bay of Plenty consistently outstripping supply and putting pressure on the market, we are seeing prices continue to increase," Lloyd said.
Meanwhile, Tauranga's weekly median rents have reached another record high of $630.
Trade Me's April Rental Price Index shows the city's median weekly rent jumped eight per cent year on year in April to $630.
Lloyd said this was an "all-time" high for Tauranga.
The number of rental properties on the market dropped three per cent year on year in Tauranga last month, while demand increased seven per cent.
In April, the Bay of Plenty's median weekly rent was $600, up nine per cent compared with April last year.
Demand for rentals in the region increased two per cent year on year last month, while supply fell nine per cent in the same period.
Lloyd said last month's most popular rental in the region was a two-bedroom house in Levers Rd, Matua.
"The $500-a-week property received 2500 views in its first week onsite."
Nationwide, Lloyd said rents reached new heights last month.
The national median weekly rent grew seven per cent compared with April 2021 to a
record $580.
"With New Zealand's national rent edging closer to $600 per week, the rising cost of food and fuel, many Kiwi households will be finding it tough," Lloyd said.
"April was the second month in a row where we have seen rents jump by seven per cent year on year. That means tenants are now paying $40 a week more than they were this time last year."
Rotorua Rentals director Pauline Evans said the city's market had recently experienced a pause on some rents.
"Tenants are savvier and want better value, with warmer, drier accommodation, especially considering the higher rent levels.
"Our demand currently is for three or four-bedroom properties for tenants with family, who are prepared to pay for a property that they believe meets their needs."
Evans said it was encouraging that recent median figures for Rotorua showed a drop, which reflected a recent trend.
"Not sure how long it will continue as there is still demand from the market."
It was no surprise, however, that rents had continued to climb year on year, given the demand for rental properties still outpaced supply, she said.
"There are other pressures such as requirements to meet the Healthy Homes standards, tax rules changes with interest costs not able to be written off against tax on rental income, increases in maintenance, insurance and rates.
"Successive changes to tenancy laws over the past few years have meant some investors have chosen to exit the market, therefore reducing the overall number of properties available for rent. Rent increases can only be issued once a year."
The only impact to relieve rising rents, in her opinion, will come about when more rental supply eventually comes onto the market.
"I have had some owners who have declined increases in the past one and two-year cycle, stating that they don't see how significantly putting up rent will be of benefit in the long term as large rent increases will lead to a point where tenants cannot pay, leading to overcrowding, a situation that no one wants."
McDowell Property Management Limited team leader Aisha Okeremi said rental enquiries had dropped slightly in the last month.
However, she said she could not see that trend will continue for long.
"As overseas Kiwis return, those overseas landlords may well look at moving back into their currently tenanted properties, meaning we will see supply decrease even further as the demand and number of tenants continues to increase."
Okeremi said there were still large numbers of applicants, especially for properties at the median rent.
"More and more families are combining to give themselves a shot at the higher-priced properties that perhaps see slightly less enquiry.
"Families including children, parents and grandparents are living together under one roof to help share the burden of high rents and therefore potentially increasing the amount they can afford and their choice of property."
Older houses were being sold and redeveloped, meaning they were removed from the market and replaced with newer, higher-quality properties that achieve higher rental prices, she said.
Jefferies and family will enjoy a leg of lamb with summer sides.