Revealed: The Hottest Rental Markets in NZ

It’s unsurprising the Hawke’s Bay rental market is hot; Cyclone Gabrielle upended households across the region.

Homeowners and tenants have had to move out of their homes and, in the meantime, need somewhere to live, so rental demand has risen. But the cyclone has also decreased supply. Some properties are so damaged they can’t be rented any longer.

That’s why it takes less than 2 weeks for the average landlord to find a tenant.

At the other end of the spectrum, properties in Thames-Coromandel took the longest to rent. The median Trade Me rental listing was live for 32 days.

That’s 21.5 days longer than in Wairoa. So, the average Thames-Coromandel investor might get up to 3 weeks less rent than the average Wairoa investor.

That difference matters. Interest rates are high and many investors are struggling with high mortgage payments.

The second hottest rental market is the Queenstown-Lakes District. Rental listings there also don’t last 2 weeks on Trade Me. The median property comes down after only 13.5 days.

Property managers there tell me the ski season tempted property owners to convert their rentals into Airbnbs. This decreased supply of long-term rental properties, just as the town got busier.

But the third hottest rental markets are a surprise. At third equal are Blenheim, Kawerau and Otorohanga. The average rental property in these areas lasts just 14 days online.

Otorohanga and Kawerau are in a state of shock; only about 10,000 people call each district home.

But small towns are, well, small. If it just so happens there are a few more tenants in the market (or a few less landlords), demand can quickly outstrip supply.