Rental prices are still falling - now lowest since 2023

Wednesday, 19 November 2025

Rents are continuing to fall across the country, with the median weekly rent in October being $610, the lowest for two and a half years.

The biggest drop was in Wellington where rents have now dropped 7.7% in the last year to $600, $10 under the national average..

Trade Me Property’s Casey Wylde said they had not seen the average weekly rent so low since early in 2023. It is now down 3.9% from the same time last year.

'While the median rent has reached highs of around $650 over the past couple of years, it's normal for prices to ease or slow towards the end of the year. Renters in the market should definitely make the most of prices being this low by checking out their options.'

'The sharp, continued drop in Wellington suggests the market is responding to increasing supply,' Wylde said.

Meanwhile, listings in the capital have risen 23% month-on-month while Wylde said search activity had only lifted by 3% across the region.

She said the supply surge was clearly easing the pressure on rental prices.

Christchurch bucked the trend of cooling rental prices. It was the only main city seeing a year-on-year increase across the board, when looking specifically at urban property types, which include apartments, townhouses and units, Wylde said.

The median rent for urban properties was up 1%, with apartments and units up 2% respectively. In contrast, Auckland, and Wellington recorded annual decreases.

'This highlights the continuing underlying strength of the rental market in Christchurch, where demand for smaller, more centrally located dwellings is still pushing prices up even as other major cities slow down,' she said.

Rents were also falling in other regions, Gisborne’s have fallen 8.6% from the same time last year to $40.

Otago had dropped 4.6% to $620 and the Bay of Plenty was down 4.4% to $650 while Auckland was down 3.7% to $650.

Wylde said despite the declines the Bay of Plenty and Auckland remained the most expensive regions to rent.

“While some of the major centres cool, smaller regions are showing strong resilience or growth. Nelson/Tasman recorded the largest year-on-year increase of 3.5%, followed by Southland up 2.1% and Taranaki rose to 1.6%.

“These pockets of resilience, particularly along the west coast of the country, show that rental markets are incredibly localised,' she says.

'The national figure is softening, but if you're looking in these smaller, resilient spots, tenants may find it hard to land a bargain or see a drop in rent.”

The number of listings have gone up but the demand for them is dropping, which is another factor in the easing rental prices.

Listings the Trade Me Property site were up 2% year-on-year in October, while overall demand was easing, with total searches for rentals nationwide down 6% compared with a year earlier.

Wylde said this suggested either got fewer people in the rental market overall, or that tenants were choosing to stay put in their current flats. Either way, the lack of competition gave renters a bit more power right now.

She said there was, however, strong activity in key lifestyle regions.

Kiwis appeared to be looking to increase their time outside, with several regions known for their sunshine hours recording big year-on-year jumps in rental searches.

Searches in Gisborne and Hawke's Bay were up 15%, and Marlborough up 10%, significant increases in searches in October compared to the same time last year, Wylde said.