by Radio NZ
Rents have fallen on an annual basis for the first time since late 2009, property research firm Cotality says.
Its latest data points to an update from the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment, which showed national median rents in the three months to May were down 0.3 percent from the year before.
It follows reports of drops in the price being asked for advertised rental properties.
Cotality chief economist Kelvin Davidson said it was a notable change after big rental increases between 2021 and 2023.
“I think it’s quite significant. There aren’t many periods in the past where rents have fallen. The latest numbers are only down slightly but you have to go back to 2009 to find a period where annual rental growth on these numbers has been negative and before that it was the late 1990s. So around the Asian financial crisis and the GFC.”
He said it showed a shift in the market.