Christchurch exodus soaks up rental capacity - First National

The real estate network's quarterly survey of its property managers found demand for rentals was steady and rents were rising more than 12 months ago.

First National's property managers reported a national vacancy rate of 4.8% for the quarter, compared with 2.5% the same time last year. However, that was partly caused by Christchurch having higher vacancy numbers than usual because of uninhabitable properties.

First National Group general manager John Stewart said the earthquake has dispersed residents to areas including Auckland, Timaru, Ashburton, Blenheim, Nelson and Central Otago, reducing rental availability in those areas.

"The earthquake has certainly caused dispersion but also families are sharing with other families as job losses on top of home and contents is causing financial stress," he said.