<\/p>\n
\n
Photo: RNZ \/ REECE BAKER\n<\/p>\n
Renters across the country are being asked to pay less for their properties, Realestate.co.nz says, and some regions have had sharper drops than others.<\/p>\n
It said the average asking price for rental properties on the site was down 2 percent in March, to $632 a week. Auckland was down 2.3 percent, year-on-year, Wellington was down 6.3 percent but Canterbury was up 0.6 percent.<\/p>\n
There were some bigger falls elsewhere in the country: Hawke’s Bay was down 8.1 percent, Coromandel was down 11.3 percent and Taranaki was down 4.9 percent.<\/p>\n
The cheapest average asking rent in the country was $433 a week on the West Coast.<\/p>\n
The declines were offset by a sharp increase in Central Otago Lakes, up 12.3 percent to an average $903 a week.<\/p>\n
Southland was up 8.6 percent, but only to an average $497.<\/p>\n
The number of properties for rent dropped 2.8 percent across the country.<\/p>\n
Spokesperson Vanessa Williams said if that were to continue, it could change the market.<\/p>\n
“The market is relatively stable for now, but in regions like Central Otago Lakes District, where demand continues to outstrip supply, renters continue to pay well over the national average,” Williams said.<\/p>\n
Economist Shamubeel Eaqub said the drop in rents was a combination of the pressure on people’s incomes and the increased housing supply in places like Auckland, relative to demand.<\/p>\n
“When we had no immigration, it turns out we didn’t have a lot of population growth.”<\/p>\n
Data released by Stats NZ on Tuesday showed that there were 680,000 rented dwellings in the March quarter, or about 32 percent of all the private housing stock.<\/p>\n
Stats NZ’s “stock” measure of rents, which includes properties that had not been re-let, was down 0.1 percent in the month, and the “flow” measure, which is only newly relet properties, was down 7.8 percent and down 2.1 percent over the year.<\/p>\n