After falling to an eight-month low in September, rental prices increased in October, according to Trade Me Property’s latest Rental Price Index.

The latest data reveals the national median weekly rent in Aotearoa jumped to $635 in October, up $5 or 0.8 per cent from September.

The biggest month-on-month increases were in Marlborough, up $35 (6.4%) to $585 Taranaki up $10 (1.7%) to $610 and the Waikato also up $10 (1.7%) to $590 per week.

Bay of Plenty has overtaken Auckland as the most expensive region to live in with a median weekly rent of $680 - now $5 higher than Tāmaki Makaurau.

Northland had the largest decrease from the previous month with the median weekly rent falling $40 (6.1%) to $580.

Trade Me Property customer director Gavin Lloyd says rental price increases at this point in the year aren’t unexpected. “It’s a seasonal trend we tend to see at this time. What is a little more unusual is increases at a time when demand is soft and supply is sky-rocketing.”

Trade Me rental price information. Image / Supplied

Unbalanced supply and demand continues

Supply was up 6.0% month-on-month with rental listings hitting a 10-year high while demand hit a four-year low.

“These market conditions are generally a positive for renters with plenty of choice. If supply remains as it is currently, we can expect to see more stable rents in the short to medium term,” says Lloyd.

The regions driving the high supply include Gisborne up 321% year-on-year, Marlborough (136%), Hawke’s Bay (76%) and the West Coast (63%).

Compared to October 2023 demand is down across all regions with the exception of Gisborne (+106%) and Marlborough (+39%).

“For a long time rents had been running hot, rising faster than inflation and outpacing wage growth. It was around mid-2024 when we saw supply start to catch up with demand and now we see listings at record highs and demand at four year lows.”

Bigger properties, bigger falls

Tenants searching for larger properties in New Zealand’s main metropolitan areas could be in luck with sizable decreases in the median weekly rent for properties with five-plus bedrooms.

“Both Auckland and Wellington have seen prices fall more than 8% for these big rentals, while Christchurch saw a drop of 2.9%.

“With a high cost of living it’s common for people to look for ways to save or offset costs, younger people may reconsider living away from home, others might share rooms or squeeze more tenants into a property.

“These big rental properties, with their relatively bigger rents, simply don’t have the same appeal in the current market,” says Lloyd.

Rental prices around NZ. Image / Supplied