Auckland Housing Market Trends: Is Immigration Putting Pressure on Rentals?

Renting a place in Auckland might cost you more soon. The price for new rentals in the region went up by $30 a week in the second quarter of this year.

During April to June, the rent increase was quick. Now, the average weekly rent for new rentals in Auckland is $630, which is a lot more than before.

For a while, rents in Auckland were steady, moving between $590 and $600 weekly from the end of 2021 to the start of 2023. But suddenly, during the second quarter of this year, it jumped to $630.

This rise in Auckland’s rent is much bigger compared to the rest of the country, where the increase was just $5 a week. You can check the table below for how much rents changed each quarter and year in the main city areas.

It’s interesting because at the same time, lots of new homes were built in Auckland. In June, a record-breaking 1742 new homes were ready to live in. So, the reason for higher rents probably isn’t because there aren’t enough houses.

There are lots of reasons why rents change, but this recent increase seems to match up with more people coming to New Zealand. In June alone, nearly 17,000 foreign workers came here, and many of them probably went to Auckland. More people needing homes usually means higher rents.

Even though the government made it easier for people from other countries to come work here, it also made rents go up. This is because more people need places to live, and that makes the price of renting higher.

The numbers we talked about come from a group that keeps track of rental agreements (MBIE). They look at the money people pay when they start renting. This tells us what rents are like because new renters usually pay the price that others have set.

So, if you’re renting a place in Auckland, you might have to pay more soon. This could make landlords happy and tenants not so much.