Cost of living: High rental prices in Northland unsurprising, experts say
Rentals are sitting empty for longer and rent is higher, according to one property manager. Photo / 123 rf
Northland’s median weekly rent is expected to stay high until mortgage rates lower and legislative pressures on landlords drop, market experts say.
Some landlords have noticed houses are staying empty for longer as demand for rental properties appears to have dropped.
Northland’s median weekly rent for December was $575 - up 2.7 per cent compared to the same time in 2022. Rental properties in Whangārei proved the most expensive in the region with a median weekly rent of $590.
Trade Me Property Sales director Gavin Lloyd said there had been a massive spike in listings in Northland with a notable 27 per cent increase year on year. However, demand was down by 5 per cent.
Propertyscouts Whangārei owner Didi Skinner said rental prices in Whangārei remain high. A house in Morningside that would usually cost $580 has jumped up to $720 in some cases, often triggered by nearby developments.
Skinner believed legislation that favours tenants over landlords was driving up rental prices. She said rules around giving tenants notice if they damage the home or fail to pay rent are not in the landlords’ favour.
“Owners have to be so much more careful”.
Skinner had noticed less demand for rentals in the area. She said it takes double the time to rent out a listing.
“It’s definitely a changing market.”
Lloyd said while Northland’s median weekly rent dropped month on month in December, the national median increased.
“This could be due to the spike in availability of properties in the region, resulting in landlords lowering rent to remain competitive in the market”.
Lloyd said it was the first time December had recorded a month-on-month increase nationally.
“Seeing rent prices go up in the last month of the year is not something we typically do see, especially since the official cash rate stayed the same in late 2023. Compared to the previous December, tenants are now paying an extra $45 each week [nationwide].”
Lloyd said higher living costs are flowing into rental prices.
OneRoof editor Owen Vaughan believed one of the “biggest driving factors” of rental price increases is increased immigration. With more people coming into the country, pressure is on the rental market, he said.
Vaughan said prices are likely to stay high while investors battle mortgage rates to a point where they are no longer affordable.
“There is simply more pressure on landlords to increase rent if only to keep their rental [at the moment],” he said.
He said lower-than-expected inflation figures found in the Consumer Price Index could put pressure on the Reserve Bank to lower mortgage rates.
When those numbers “calm down”, rental prices should decrease too, he said.
Brodie Stone is the education and general news reporter at the Advocate. Brodie has spent most of her life in Whangārei and is passionate about delving into issues that matter to Northlanders and beyond.