Source: Radio New Zealand
Wellington had the largest drop of the main centres, down 9.7 percent. (File photo) RNZ / REECE BAKER
New Zealand’s average weekly rent has dropped for the first time in a decade – but one representative for renters says it’s not necessarily a sign they have it easy.
Realestate.co.nz said, based on its data, the national average weekly rent was down 1.8 percent in 2025 compared to 2024.
Wellington had the largest drop of the main centres, down 9.7 percent. Auckland was down 2.5 percent.
Realestate.co.nz spokesperson Vanessa Williams said there were a few factors driving the change.
“Just after National got in, there was all this talk about legislative changes around the bright-line test, loan-to-value rules and interest deductibility.
“What we saw was a bunch of rental properties come off the market, be done up to get ready for sale, and then the realisation that the property market hadn’t moved at all in terms of price so they came back on to the rental market at an elevated price point because they had been done up.
“Then basically that was when we saw a real shift in the volume of listings coming on to the market and saw that shift to more properties than renters.
“You couple that with the increased exodus of people going outside of New Zealand, more specifically to the Australian market, especially people who would typically rent like tradies, frontline workers and nurses… and there is also this phenomenon of younger people just not moving out of home.”
Stats NZ data for December showed an annual drop in rents of 0.3 percent based on the flow measure of new rental properties, and growth of 0.1 percent in the stock measure.
But Realestate.co.nz data showed over the ten years to 2025, the national average was still up almost 50 percent.
“Over the past 10 years, the national average weekly rental price has shown consistent growth, from an average of $424 in 2015 to $638 in 2024. To see weekly rents fall 1.8 percent between 2024 and 2025 is a clear signal the market has shifted,” Williams said.
“We’re seeing the effects of sustained rental supply meeting softer demand. Rental prices will need to remain realistic to be competitive.”
Over the ten years to 2025, the national average rental price increased 47.8 percent compared to inflation of 35.3 percent over the same period.
Gisborne’s rent more than doubled over the decade, from $290 in 2015 to $641.
Southland and Manawatu/Whanganui also doubled.
Luke Somervell, spokesperson for Renters United, said the increase in national rent over 10 years was “extraordinary”.
“This $214 increase in just 10 years, that’s a lot of money for people. That’s a lot of cash, let alone the capital gains that people will also make when they cash in after they pay off their mortgages and so on.”
He agreed many of the young people who had left the country recently were likely to have been renters.
“The fact that it’s only dropped a couple of percent is not that encouraging, especially when we know the average wages haven’t even been able to keep pace with inflation…Maybe rents have decreased a little bit but it’s definitely not a party for renters at the moment, that’s for sure.”
He said no steps had been taken to help renters get a fair deal.
“They’re just sort of getting buffeted by these trends. And investors are happy about that… they’re looking at this and they’re thinking, great, we’re going to be able to cash in in the next 10 years. Hopefully this is just going to be a little dip for now. But don’t worry, you’ll still get your profits, no problem.”
He said more properties needed to be built, but people also needed to be supported to negotiate with their landlords and dispute their rents.
Williams said people who thought they were paying more than market rent could have a conversation with their landlords.
“Say ‘hey look, I’ve been looking around these other three-bedroom houses for $50 less a week, this week, can we have a little bit of negotiation here, I don’t really want to move, but I also would like to save myself $50 a week if I can do that…”
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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
