Of the landlords planning to raise rents 39% intend increases of between 1-5%, 43% plan increases of 5-10%, 12% expect to raise by 10-15%, and 5% plan rises of more than 15%.

The average rise planned is just over 6.5%.

Of the more than 1,000 survey respondents, 614 say they plan raising rents, 256 said they do not plan to raise them, and 152 opted for “maybe”.

Alexander says in reality, because rents are set with reference to the market, the actual rise in rents is likely to be less than the “hopes” expressed in the survey by many landlords.

“Nonetheless, it is the change in rent plans which is the important variable, which we will be tracking from next month. It is the change in this, rather than the actual rent rises, we are interested in.”

The survey will track changes in pressures on rents, points of particular concern, plans regarding property purchases, intentions to sell by landlords and shifts in preferences for property types.

Buying property is still top of mind for many investors. A gross 28% of respondents to the survey say they are intending to buy another property.

This is stronger than the gross 8% of real estate agents, in the monthly Alexander and REINZ survey, reporting they are seeing fewer investors in the market.

While a percentage are wanting to buy, 26% have indicated they will be selling property within the coming year.

Alexander says while this sounds like a relatively high percentage, it will take some time to gain a “feel for what normal looks like”.

More landlords are intending to keep their existing investment property. More than 40% have no intention of selling and 22% plan on holding property for at least another 10 years.

Just over one-third plan selling within 10 years and 22% within five years.

“Interestingly, while a gross 25% of respondents in [one] question indicated they intend selling their property within the coming year, the proportion implying that in [another] question is just 6%.” says Alexander.

“We suspect there is a strong element of concern regarding the Government’s recent tax changes which continues to manifest itself as threats to sell.”

For the gross 28% of investors thinking about buying another property, 45% are looking at buying one which is new and 55% are looking at buying an existing property.

Alexander says tracking this response will give insights into whether the Government’s policy actions are truly steering investors towards financing the construction of new dwellings.

Of those intending to buy, 27% want a standalone house, 22% a townhouse, and 7% an apartment. And the size preference for those respondents is for two to three-bedrooms houses, with studios and single bedroom properties out the door.

For the 28% of investors thinking about buying a property, a gross 35% say they prefer to buy an existing house. There is little interest in existing townhouses and apartments.

Some 14% of investors say they do not have a mortgage, 55% have a mortgage on which they are paying principal and interest, and 31% are on a mortgage with repayments of interest only.

More than 50% plan to pay back more than they have been paying, just 4% plan paying back less, and the remaining 44% plan no repayment changes.