Droves of landlords want to raise rents

The latest Tony Alexander and Crockers Property Managers  Property Investors Insight survey shows the average rent rise landlords are seeking has risen to a 10-month high of 6% from 5.6% in March and a low of 5.3% in December.

Alexander says it is not just a matter of rising costs for landlords placing upward pressure on rents.

“The Government has actively discouraged growth in the rental stock through tax changes, and a sharp acceleration in the population growth rate courtesy of a new net migration boom is lifting demand. Add in the incentive to switch property use back towards tourism and the supply/demand interaction is increasingly in favour of rents rising at an accelerating pace.”

He says the Reserve Bank will not want to see this sort of thing as rising rents feed directly into inflation rates.