Auckland reclaims top spot as most expensive place to rent
Auckland has reclaimed the top spot as the country's most expensive place to rent after the Bay of Plenty overtook Tāmaki Makaurau in December, according to Trade Me's latest rental price index.
Trade Me's Gavin Lloyd said: "Average median rent in Auckland went up by 3 per cent compared to last month, reaching a high of $680 per week whilst the Bay of Plenty market dropped by 3 per cent to $650 per week.
"The increase in Tāmaki Makaurau was driven by the North Shore City which recorded an uptick of 4.2 per cent to $720 a week and Waitakere City which is up 2.3 per cent to $665 a week."
The data also showed New Zealand rental prices overall have increased for the second month in a row.
The national median weekly rent in New Zealand has jumped to $630 for the month of January, up 0.8% compared to December last year.
Lloyd said the first month of 2024 could be a "telling sign" of the year ahead.
"Renters were for the most part sheltered from any major price increases for rental properties at the end of 2023 but this may change if the Reserve Bank decides to raise the official cash rate next week in their first meeting of the year.
“As borrowing costs rise, landlords may face increased expenses, and some could pass on these costs to tenants through higher rents.
"This change might make it a bit tougher for renters with the rising cost of living and lack of properties available giving them fewer options when searching for a property," Lloyd said.
Southland retains its status as the most affordable place to rent in New Zealand, with a median price of $450 per week, a slight increase of $10 from December.
The report also included rent for townhouses and apartments, which have climbed to "record highs".
The median weekly rent for an apartment in New Zealand peaked at $560 per week in January and townhouses reached $665 per week.
In Auckland specifically, townhouses also reached an all time high of $730, up 5% compared to the same time last year. Units in Christchurch also saw a jump, up 12.5%, making the median rent $450.
"As net migration is almost at an all time high more people are coming into the country looking for entry level rentals like apartments and townhouses — especially as they are more prevalent in our city centres.
"This increase in demand is likely putting pressure on the supply and impacting prices," Lloyd said.
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Poll: Should all neighbours have to contribute to improvements?
An Auckland court has ruled a woman doesn’t have to contribute towards the cost of fixing a driveway she shares with 10 neighbours.
When thinking about fences, driveways or tree felling, for example, do you think all neighbours should have to pay if the improvements directly benefit them?
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83% Yes
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14.4% No
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2.6% Other - I'll share below
What's your favourite tomato recipe?
Kia ora neighbours. We know your tomato plants are still growing, but we're looking ahead to the harvest already! If you've got a family recipe for tomatoes, we'd love to see it and maybe publish it in our magazine to share with our readers. Send your recipe to mailbox@nzgardener.co.nz, and if we use it in the mag, you will receive a free copy of our February 2025 issue.
THE ORNAMENTAL BRICK COTTAGE (corner Trafalgar & Manukau)
Corner called Robin's Corner after grocers shop there.
Passengers on all types of conveyances, Horse drawn bus from the late 1870's, then Electric trams from 1903 to 1956, and Diesel and Trolley buses from 1956, down to the present day, evinced an absorbing interest in the brick cottage which stood in Trafalgar Street, adjacent to Manukau Road, Onehunga.
The neat appearance, clean and wholesome, looking as though it was hosed down every day of its existence, was the subject of much speculation of latter day viewers. There were to be found in the ranks of the historians of Onehunga, some who said that the pretty little cottage had been built by a New Zealand Royal Fencible in the 1847-56 period. Others, however, considered it was erected by a discharged Fencible in the 1860s. Some said it was erected by the Government for the senior-sergeant of Fencibles stationed in Onehunga.
All conjectures of the would-be-pundits led to a private investigator delving into the old records to answer an inquiry directly submitted to the Onehunga Borough Council by an Arts Diploma holder of the Elam School of Arts. The Town Clerk, the late Mr. Norman L. Norman ascertained from a reliable source that the brick cottage stood on a part allotment of land which belonged to John Beattie, a Fencible, ex¬ Royal Marines, who came to New Zealand with the Fifth Division of pensioners on the troopship "Berhampore" arriving at Auckland on June, 16th, 1849. The original grant of a contracted area of land, something greater than one acre, situated at the corner of Manukau Road and Trafalgar Street, was issued to John Beattie in 1856. The corner, thereafter, was known as Beattie's Corner, and retained this appellation until Mr. J. Robins built his store in the late 1880's on a site opposite to John Beattie's acre, when the name was Robin's corner, supplanting Beattie's Corner.
The purchaser of the section on which the cottage stood was Thomas Henry Massey, believed to be a Midlander from England. Massey was noted for his flair for artistic construction in brick and it is said that he was responsible for the design of the facades of the Branches erected by the Auckland Savings Bank in Newmarket and Onehunga in 1885.
The house in Trafalgar street, with a chimney at either end, its slate roof and white stone ornamental facings, was an object of interest to local residents and horse drawn bus passengers as well, while it was being erected.
The bricks were made at Avondale to Massey's specifications, and any that did not measure up to the standard required by the builder were rejected.
The actual year in which the cottage was built is not recorded in archives of the Borough Council. But two residents who were asked about 30 years ago, (1934) to fix a year which would be approximately correct, said that the cottage was occupied by Thomas Massey in 1878.
The edifice being finished off at the present moment is a bit different from what was originally there as described above.