Be wary of raising rents

The Auckland-based real estate company reported the average weekly rent in Auckland for June increased $5 from May to $403 and was up $15 from June last year.

However, Barfoot & Thompson chief executive Wendy Alexander says landlords need to be careful about how they read the increase in figures and says there is a lot of hype and speculation in the market around rents due to Budget changes and next year's Rugby World Cup.

Alexander says there are a few factors currently influencing the increase in rents, for example landlords anticipating higher upcoming costs and the fact a number of new properties have come onto Barfoot's management books, which always influence the figures.

But she says the more important issue landlords need to consider is that although rents are up $15 from the same time last year, it is merely a pattern of variation rather than a trend.