New Zealand: More Rental Properties Available

Potential homebuyers in New Zealand maybe choosing to remain long-term renters and so freeing up their savings for less volatile investments. Industry experts say even tenants who can afford a deposit and mortgage repayments are taking advantage of market conditions and enjoying a less stressful life.

Andrew King, from Auckland Property Investors Association, said in a report to the New Zealand Herald, that renting was “extremely good value” at the moment. He believed the number of long-term tenants had been rising for at least 18 months. King said maintenance, rates, and insurance cost landlords up to $10,000 a year, per property after tax - and that was $10,000 a tenant didn’t have to pay.

“Renting is a very cost-effective thing do to,” he said. “It’s not even just the cost of the maintenance, you also don’t have to do it, you can just ring the landlord.”

Tenants also had the freedom that comes with flexibility. They only have to give three weeks’ notice, while a landlord has to give 90 days notice, or 42 if they are selling. Tenants also have the protection of the New Zealand Tenancy Tribunal.

King said the doom and gloom surrounding the New Zealand housing market had seen more rental properties become available, especially in the last month. Finding properties weren’t selling for the price they wanted, homeowners have been renting them out while the market corrected. But King said the “slight oversupply” didn’t mean you were likely to get a rental property on the cheap, especially in Auckland. Some landlords, facing rising costs, were putting up rents by as much as 15 per cent, forcing some tenants to move.