Slow Auckland rent growth unlikely to go on

The latest quarterly rental update from Barfoot & Thompson is out now and it has Auckland’s average weekly rent increasing by 3.28% to $567 in the fourth quarter of 2018.

A typical* three-bedroom rental in Auckland cost $564 a week in December 2018, which equates to an increase of just 3.12%, or around $17, as compared to December 2017.

Barfoot & Thompson director Kiri Barfoot says rent increases trended down for most property sizes and areas throughout 2018, and this persisted in the final months of the year with the lowest rates of change yet.

Slowing rent growth often indicates a softening in tenant demand or a potential oversupply of the type of property involved.

But Barfoot says it remains to be seen how the rental market will accommodate the various regulatory changes, like the letting fees ban, bedding in now, along with the proposed tenancy law changes.