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RNZ News
08-07-2025
- Business
- RNZ News
Reserve Bank expected to pause OCR cuts
business economy 27 minutes ago The Reserve Bank is expected to put a pause on its series of cuts to the Official Cash Rate on Wednesday. chief executive Sarah Wood spoke to Melissa Chan-Green.
RNZ News
16-06-2025
- Business
- RNZ News
How long will better times for renters last?
More than 7000 rental listings were added to the website in May. Photo: RNZ Good news for renters - rents are predicted to remain subdued until well into next year. said renters were, on average, $1400 a year better off this year than last, because asking rents were falling. The average rent being asked across the country in May was $633 per week, a drop of $27, compared to the same time in 2024. That was also the lowest price since December 2023. spokesperson Vanessa Williams said demand had slowed at the same time that more listings had come to the market. For the first time in almost a decade, more than 7000 rental listings were added to the site in May, a 21.3 percent increase from the same time last year. The biggest increase was in Wellington, up 87 percent year-on-year. "While interest rates are coming down, we haven't seen growth in the sale market," she said. "There's an element of investors not bringing property to market, which can be snapped by first-home buyers. "The lower end of the market isn't being transacted as much. We haven't seen any growth in property prices for the last well over two-and-a-half years. "That's an element that's happening." She said another aspect of reduced demand was that cost-of-living challenges kept people living with their parents longer and also leaving the country. She expected the for-sale market to pick up in spring, which could mean more investors took their properties out of the rental pool to try to sell them, but she said that was unlikely to feed through to change in the rental market before the end of the year. Infometrics chief forecaster Gareth Kiernan said the market could stay in tenants' favour even longer. "Rental growth could remain subdued for another 12-18 months," he said. "Factors likely to limit rental inflation during the rest of 2025 and into 2026 include slower population growth and lower net migration, as well as modest household income growth and the potentially patchy economic recovery. "Nevertheless, if the labour market begins to gradually recover during the second half of this year, it should help limit some of the downward pressure on rents that we have seen over the last year." He said lower mortgage rates and the reversal of Labour's less favourable tax rules around investment property were likely to limit the upward pressure on rents due to landlords' rising costs. "Demand tends to be the primary driver of rents and landlords will charge what the market can bear. In other words, there looks likely to be a measure of consistency between limited cost pressures and modest demand for rental accommodation over the next few quarters." Cotality chief economist Kelvin Davidson said there had previously been a "big boom" in rents and the ratio of rent to income was at record highs. "Rents are already pretty stretched, which limits the scope for growth, and it makes sense it's slowed down." He agreed a drop in migration also reduced demand. "That's previously been a big driver of it, people wanting to come into the country, but that's really tailed off." Developers were also renting some newly built properties rather than selling them. He said tenants wouldn't have to worry about rapid rent increases for some time. "Unless we get a lot of wage growth, which doesn't seem likely… there's that restraint on tenant affordability." Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
RNZ News
03-06-2025
- Business
- RNZ News
Two months, no offers: Is Wellington's real estate market improving?
Charlotte Weston's home. Photo: Supplied Charlotte Weston has had her Wellington home on the market for two months but is yet to receive an offer. "There's been steady interest at open homes and second viewings requested, but no offers." She said a couple of houses had sold nearby for less than the asking price so she had lowered her expectations. It is now on the market for $550,000. "Mine is currently listed for what I paid for it last year, despite all the improvements that I made to it like adding a heat pump, insulation and more storage. I can't drop it any further. I have accepted I'll lose money on it but it's surprising to me that it's taking so long to get any significant interest." She said the real estate salesperson selling her property had told her it was a slow market. Weston is moving to Melbourne for family reasons. "It's definitely tougher than I expected. The news I've seen is that although there's a slow increase on house prices, there's still an increase, and I didn't know it would sit on the market for this long without an offer. It's an ordinary ex-state house but there's nothing wrong with it." New data from shows that, although Wellington's property market has been doing it tough lately, sellers might be starting to feel more confident. Wellington's prices are still down 25.1 percent from their peak, the biggest drop in the country, according to Real Estate Institute data. But Wellington's asking price is now almost $95,000 more on average compared to May 2024, a lift of 12.9 percent. Across the country, the national average asking price is only up 0.8 percent over that same period. The house is for sale in Naenae. Photo: Supplied chief executive Sarah Wood said Wellington was worth watching closely. "After months of subdued figures, this lift could be early evidence of buyer confidence returning to the capital. A jump like this gives vendors reason to feel optimistic." New listings were down in Wellington by 32.1 percent compared to May 2024, possibly driving the average asking price increase. "We still need something significant to really move the dial in the property market. Last week's OCR drop wasn't that, but if interest rates drop and we see more investors in the market, we're likely to see a greater appetite for buying," she said. Cotality chief property economist Kelvin Davidson said Wellington's market was starting to show signs of life. "But it's also important to note it's coming from a low base and you always need to be a little careful with asking prices may not necessarily be the case here, but the mix of properties being listed can skew prices from time to time. "Long story short, yes Wellington does seem to be picking up - as are other parts of the country too, but it's not likely to be a boom any time soon." Weston said she would need to see more evidence before being confident things were turning around. "I don't know that I could judge any signs of improvement - the only way I'll really know is when I get offers. Numbers at open homes have been up and down week by week so I can't really judge by that."
RNZ News
09-05-2025
- Business
- RNZ News
More good news for tenants
Photo: RNZ It's a good time to be a tenant, new data suggests. said the supply of rental properties across New Zealand was at the highest level of any April in almost a decade, last month. There were 5868 new listings on the site in the month, up 24.1 percent year-on-year. The last time the number listed was that high was in April 2016. Auckland had the largest number of new listings followed by Canterbury and Wellington. Wellington's average rental price was down 7.2 percent year-on-year to $647 and Auckland's down 3.3 percent to $702. The national average was down $14 a week. spokesperson Vanessa Wiliams said $14 extra in a tenant's pocket per week over a 52-week period could result in a saving upwards of $700. "That's a nice three-seater sofa for the flat or a weekend away. In today's current economic climate, $700 can go a long way." She said there were a few reasons for the increase in listings. Some were short-term rentals now being offered for longer terms. "Looking at tax data, the number of properties that were being taxed in the short term rental bracket had decreased and the number being taxed in the long-term bracket has increased. "New Zealanders weren't travelling as much, they didn't have as much disposable income, the Airbnbs of the world weren't being used as much so the income of those had declined." Another was that young people were staying at home longer with their parents because of the cost of living, or moving overseas. A slower sales market also meant that investors were holding on to their properties. "When a big in flood of properties happened was about May last year and the reason we put it down to was - the stories around the bright-line test changing and interest deductibility changing, that started happening in January and February last year. "What happened was a large portion of investors took their properties out of the rental supply to get them ready for sale and then quite quickly worked out that if they did the maths on it, if they had bought in the last couple of years they had not realised the capital gains they wanted. "You saw a bit of a flood coming back into the market as rental stock when it had come off for two to four months." She said two increases in supply and one decrease in demand meant rental property stock had been healthy for a year now. Central Otago and Lakes went against the trend with all-time high with an average rental price of $870 per week in April, a 3 percent increase year-on-year. Although the region's 148 new listings reported in April was a 22.1 percent drop from the 190 listings in March, the region's April numbers reflect a 35.8 percent year-on-year increase. "Central Otago and Lakes' rental activity corresponds with our sales property data, which confirms the region's reputation as one of the most highly valued markets in the country," Williams said, "It's not surprising to see this region continue to command top dollar with its beautiful homes, attractive lifestyle, and strong tourist market. "But any warm dry healthy home near good schools or bus stops and public transport is always going to be well demanded from tenants. Newer homes definitely, people with young families want to keep their little ones warm and dry. There will be markets right across New Zealand where there is rental stock challenges happening for a very long time that's where you see high demand." Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
