Rental housing market favouring tenants with rents dropping and more vacant properties needing tenants

The rental housing market remained soft in October with advertised rents lower than a year ago in many regions while the number of properties available to rent increased.

The average asking rent of all the rental properties advertised on realestate.co.nz was $628 a week in October, down by $21 a week (-3.2%) compared to October last year.

The biggest decline was in the Wellington Region where the average advertised rent was down by $67 a week (-9.6%)  compared to October last year.

In Auckland the average asking rent was down by $24 a week (-3.4%) compared to a year ago and in Otago it was down by $38 a week (-6.5%)..

Canterbury was the only main centre region where the average rent didn’t decline, but the annual increase in the region was only $1 a week, so in practical terms, rents in Canterbury were flat – see the table below for the full regional figures.

At the same time as average rents have been falling, the number of residential properties looking for a tenant has been rising.

Realestate.co.nz received 6750 new rental listings from throughout the country in October, up 5.5% compared to September and up 11.4% compared to October last year.

The biggest jump in new rental listings was in the Wellington Region, with 601 received from the region in October, up 70.7% compared to October last year.

“The fact that average rental prices are down nationally tells us the rental market is going in a different direction from the broader cost of living pressure, which is certainly welcome news for tenants,” realestate.co.nz spokesperson Vanessa Williams said.

“For landlords, that means despite being hit with rising living costs, they may not be able to command the higher rental prices they would like,” Williams said.

 
Average Advertised Asking Rents on Realestate.co.nz
 
October 2024 v October 2025
 
Region
Oct-24
Oct-25
Change 1 yr
 
Northland
$594
$610
$16
 
Auckland
$707
$683
-$24
 
Coromandel
$591
$567
-$24
 
Waikato
$575
$566
-$10
 
Bay of Plenty
$685
$656
-$30
 
Central North Island
$552
$545
-$7
 
Gisborne
$680
$618
-$62
 
Hawke’s Bay
$598
$613
$16
 
Taranaki
$561
$579
$18
 
Manawatu / Whanganui
$556
$532
-$25
 
Wairarapa
$553
$556
$3
 
Wellington
$701
$634
-$67
 
Nelson & Bays
$572
$565
-$8
 
Marlborough
$555
$574
$19
 
West Coast
$398
$412
$14
 
Canterbury
$585
$586
$1
 
Central Otago / Lakes District
$788
$798
$10
 
Otago
$582
$544
-$38
 
Southland
$454
$481
$27
 
All of Aotearoa
$649
$628
-$21