Rents stagnant in Auckland but rising in other major markets

New Zealand's median rent rose 2.7% between the March quarters of 2022 and 2023, according to rental bonds data lodged with Tenancy Services.

That increased the country's median weekly rent from $550 to $565.

The standout result was the Auckland Region, the city's largest rental market, where weekly rents ($600) were unchanged over the year.

However, the other major markets recorded year-on-year increases. That included:

• Queenstown-Lakes = 18.6% growth.
• Selwyn = 10.3%.
• New Plymouth District = 12.2%.
• Palmerston North = 8.7%.
• Tauranga City = 8.3%.
• Dunedin = 5.8%.
• Christchurch = 5.3%.
• Hamilton City = 5.1%.
• Napier City = 5.0%.
• Porirua = 3.2%.
• Wellington City = 1.6%.
• Lower Hutt = 0.8%.

How to buy an investment property

With rents rising in many parts of New Zealand, you might be thinking of buying an investment property.

One way to purchase an investment property is to save a deposit and I can see which lender would be the right fit for you. If you own your own home, and you’ve built up some equity (which is the difference between the value of your property and your outstanding mortgage), one way to fasttrack the process is to borrow against your equity.

Potentially, you could use that money to finance the deposit on an investment property, thereby lowering the deposit hurdle.

Contact me if you’d like to discuss how this might apply to your personal situation.