Rents costing tenants $26,000 a year

Rents for a three to four bedroom property have risen more than 30% in the last five years, new Trade Me Property data reveals

Rents costing tenants $26,000 a year
Trade Me Property considers a typical rental property to be a three or four bedroom house.

Head of Trade Me Property Nigel Jeffries said the last five years have seen rents rise by more than 30%, costing renters no small sum each year, according to a Fairfax article. 

"Back in 2012, tenants were forking out $380 a week or just under $20,000 per annum for a place with three or four bedrooms. Fast-forward to today's rental market and tenants are staring down the barrel at an additional $6000 on their yearly bill," said Jeffries.

The Bay of Plenty saw the largest five-year increase in median weekly rent for three-to four-bedroom properties, jumping from $340 to $465 and adding $6500 to the annual cost of renting. 

In Auckland, the increase was $5460 over five years but the annual change for median weekly rent across all property types remained steady in February.

"Tenants are paying $450 a week across the country for a rental property, and that figure has remained steady for the past three months. Even so, it's a 5 per cent rise on a year ago, and they can expect to be paying an extra $20 a week," said Jeffies.

In Northland, the median rent hit a new high of $360/week over February, a lift of 12.5% over the last year and costing renters an extra $2000 over the same timeframe.  

The South Island stood out the most, with big lifts for the West Coast and Marlborough median weekly rents lifting 19.7% annually to $395.

"This boost is in large part due to the post-earthquake demand for contract workers in the region, and it looks like it will continue to be tough for tenants because of Marlborough's relatively small volume of rental stock," Jeffries said.