Local Market

The rental market has definitely slowed down on Trademe and Realestate.co.nz; you’ll find there’s quite a number now of listings four weeks & over since they were first listed.


I’m finding tenants have a lot more choice out there in the market, and numbers have dropped at open home viewing from ten to fifteen people at the end of last year; now, on average, three to four groups at an open home.

In my opinion, rents have peaked but not necessarily dropped as yet. I think we will see a correction in the coming months, and the rents will start dropping. Rental Market Supply And Demand


I don’t think the market has entirely caught up as yet, with the rent adjustments because there seems to be more supply than demand now.


Tenants have a lot more choices; they’re not rushing in and applying for the first property that meets most of their needs. 


They’re taking their time and looking for a property that suits them best.

If oversupply continues, I believe rents will shift downwards in the coming months, making it more difficult when doing a rental appraisal until we see the shift happen when doing a rental market assessment; it’s better to have a more conservative approach.

This is an interesting article on new builds over supply over the last two years.

As demand slows, the better a rental property fits the masses, the wider the pool of prospective tenants there is and the more likely to rent your property faster.

Generally, there is an order from a higher pool of tenants to a lower pool of demand on types of rental properties.

The highest to lowest demand is as below:

  • Three to five-bedroom homes
  • Two bedrooms
  • One bedroom

What is popular in the current market?  

Of course, there will be exceptions to the rule depending on geographic location.

I.e. Wellington or Auckland inner city will be a different market to suburbia Wellington & Auckland and indeed for the Manawatu & the Tararua regions, its families that drive the largest market pool of tenants.

In a slower rental market, you want your rental to appeal to as many tenants as possible, as tenants have much more choice.

✔ The goal is to make your property stand out from other rentals.  Make your property stand out from other rentals.

If families drive the largest tenant pool, what are the key features that families want in a property? 

  • A reasonable size backyard for the kids to play in 
  • A garage, preferably a double
  • A decent kitchen and dining room area
  • Ideally, two bathrooms or at least a second separate toilet
  • Reasonably easy care section.
  • Close to schools & bus stops etc. 
  • Suburb and street location
  • A property fully fenced
  • Modern décor or recently refurbished
  • Presented clean and tidy.

The more key features you tick, your rental property will perform better in high and low-demand rental markets. 

Sure you will agree there are some general requirements for most tenants.

The point I want to make here is the more a rental property entices the multitudes, the higher the chance of attracting good tenants faster when a rental market has slowed.

If you want some help renting your property, Call Richard on 027 249 8295  📞

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