Dunedin Rental Market Update - March 2024
(Most recent Tenancy Services data January 2023)

Tenancy Services has recorded an increase in the median weekly rent from $630 per week in January 2023 to $680 per week in January 2024.

The number of bonds lodged decreased from 2088 in January 2023 to 2028 in January 2024, with the closed bonds also decreasing slightly from 726 to 705 for the same period. January statistics are historically influenced by the student market and this decrease reflects a change in when the tenancies have been changing hands in the 2023/2024 year, likely due, in part, to compliance with legislative changes.

The average number of rental listings available on TradeMe in January 2024 was 402, which is a 21% increase on the number of listings available in January 2023. 

Combined with the increasing cost of insurance, rates and ongoing maintenance, independent economist Tony Alexander has speculated that “rents will keep rising, and once interest rates start solidly falling, house prices will follow (rising also)."  

There is further speculation that, while some landlords are looking at ways to cut costs, others are increasingly seeing the value provided by experienced property management companies. Many private landlords struggle to establish up to date market rents and therefore under-let their properties for extended periods. When coupled with ongoing compliance requirements continuing to impact investors, the somewhat passive investment that rental property once was has turned into a costly and time consuming asset for many private landlords leading many to reassess their position.