Auckland's residential rents saw their steepest increase in last year's first quarter to March, rising 5.69% on the quarter to March 2023, according to Stats NZ data. However, rent increases slowed throughout the year, with a rise of just 3.89% in the last quarter. Reasons for ongoing rental cost hikes include high demand, constrained supply, and the return of international visitors and students, along with significant net migration.
By December 2023, average weekly rents reached $663, up 5.3% from the previous year, with rents gradually increasing from $678 in June to $689 in December 2024. The rental data reflects both existing and newly signed tenancies.
No-cause evictions return, landlords warned against misuse (Source)
As of yesterday, landlords in New Zealand can again issue no-cause evictions, giving 90 days’ notice to end periodic tenancies without a specific reason. And if a landlord or a family member intends to move back in, they can terminate a tenancy with 42 days’ notice. Also, landlords can choose not to convert fixed-term tenancies into periodic ones without explanation.
These are among the latest changes that follow last year’s amendments to the Residential Tenancies Act. Some changes (such as changes to bond lodgements, no longer requiring signatures for lodging or topping up a bond) took effect last year, but others are still being rolled out.
Other changes. Effective March 20, include allowing landlords to ban tenants smoking indoors and allowing an email address to be used as an address for service.
While the Ministry of Housing emphasizes tenant protections, such as safeguards against retaliatory terminations, concerns have been raised about the potential for abuse of the new eviction rules.
Most submitters were opposed to the changes, including a majority of property managers and landlords.
Our view: This is good news for landlords. We have all at some point read horror stories about landlords not being able to get rid of a bad tenant. This gives the landlord the ability to do so. On the flip side, there is also good news for tenants in that it should now be easier to find rentals if you have a pet. At the end of the day, there are lots of great landlords and tenants out there. However, if you are a landlord struggling to manage your rental property, give Point Property Management a call. They have a wealth of knowledge and can take the pressure off any challenges you have with property management.
Housing market set for rebound, CoreLogic says (Source)
New Zealand’s property market may be approaching a rebound after a period of stagnation - CoreLogic's latest data suggests.
National values dropped slightly by 0.1% in January, following a cumulative decline of 4.1% from March to August 2024. Right now, the national median property value stands at $803,819— that’s 17.5% lower than the Covid-period peak, but still 16.3% above pre-Covid levels.
CoreLogic notes since the "mini downturn" ended in August, values have stabilised. Lower mortgage rates and increasing property sales are expected to reduce available listings, potentially creating more competition among buyers.
Wellington prices dropped the most, down 25.1%, while Auckland is down 22.1%.
Lower mortgage rates would boost the market, but listings were “abundant: and the market is still soft. CoreLogic cautions that job losses and uncertainty, particularly in Wellington, could affect the market, and slower population growth from immigration might also dampen demand. On the other hand, favourable tax rules for mortgaged investors and lower interest rates may stimulate investor activity. First-home buyers are likely to benefit from lower mortgage rates and abundant listings.
Our view: We have been saying this for a while. It will be interesting to see how things change between now and December. It might not happen at a rate of knots, but change is afoot with all signs pointing to a rebound for the housing market.
$3.5m pricing gap opens up for highest and lowest suburbs in Auckland (Source)
Fresh realestate.co.nz data reveals million-dollar price gaps between the highest and lowest-priced suburbs across New Zealand's main cities.
The biggest gap is in Auckland with a more than $3.5m variance between Herne Bay's average asking price of $4.32m and Auckland Central's $704,067.
Wellington and Christchurch also saw $1 million-plus price differences between their highest and lowest-priced suburbs last year.
"The relative affordability of CBD living, influenced by apartment options, opens up opportunities for buyers,"realestate.co.nz spokesperson Vanessa Williams says.
Australia housing market: Sydney and Melbourne residential property downturns could end before election (Source)
The housing downturn in Sydney could be over before Australia’s federal election (due on or before May 17), with predictions the Reserve Bank of Australia will start cutting rates next month off the back of lower-than-expected inflation figures.
Potential rate cuts are expected to give housing markets in Sydney and Melbourne a boost (possibly sooner than anticipated for Melbourne), but some say it won’t trigger a housing boom while affordability and high rates remain an issue.
CoreLogic data reveals the decline in home values for both Sydney and Melbourne have slowed, signalling potential stabilisation in both markets.
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From the team at Erskine Owen.
