The latest release from the Department of Building and Housing shows that average rents are rising. Recent media reports suggested that stocks of available rental accommodation was at a low ebb throughout the country except for Wellington. This rise in rents in the last couple of months maybe be a sign that Wellington also is beginning to empty out of homes available for rent. There was talk last month that a short term glut of apartments for rent in town as a result of the completion of complexes such as Soho Apartments had affected rents in the suburbs, but this fear is clearly unfounded.
Expect rents to continue to push up ward as tax changes and a slumbering building industry add pressure from both ends.
This graph is put together from stats released by http://www.minhousing.govt.nz/market-rent
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