Christchurch rental supply down 40% year-on-year
Trade Me stats offers further evidence that the market is extremely tight.
A Trade Me statement to the ASX overnight offers further evidence the rental market in Christchurch is tight.
Based on its listings, the site said supply is down 40% compared to a year ago.
Brendon Skipper, head of Trade Me Property, says supply had started to contract as far back as September 2010 and had never recovered.
“When the first major earthquake struck, we saw supply begin to come under pressure, and the February 2011 earthquake exacerbated the shortage. Supply has continued to plummet, and the current level of rental inventory for the city is the lowest we have seen for years.”
Landlords are fielding 42% more enquiries from potential tenants.
“It is a classic case of supply and demand, and is now flowing through to rent,” Mr Skipper said.
“We’ve seen the average asking rent go up 15% in Christchurch, well ahead of the national increase of 4%."
Overall Trade Me Property listing supply is down 7% across the country, with Wellington (down 12%) and Hamilton (down 9%) prominent. Supply remains strong in the student cities of Palmerston North (up 13%) and Dunedin (up 17%), and demand is steady.
Across New Zealand, the average asking rent was up by 4% compared to a year ago, underpinned by Christchurch but also reflecting a 7% increase in central Auckland.
Mr Skipper says although more listings were coming onto Trade Me Property, they were “not sticking around” for long. “So far this year, about a quarter of all listings in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch were onsite for six days or less, which is great for landlords but another indicator of that strong tenant demand.”
There were signs that pressure in the rental market was pushing prospective tenants to consider the option of buying a house, Mr Skipper says.
“Looking at our property for sale activity, we can see demand from potential buyers has increased by 13 per cent over the quarter, while sales inventory remains flat.”
NBR staff
Wed, 11 Apr 2012
Wed, 11 Apr 2012
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Christchurch rental supply down 40% year-on-year
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