August 2016

Having mentioned in our previous column that the rental market was quite active, there has been quite a turnaround in the last month.  July is always traditionally a slow rental market and this is the case this month. There are currently at least 35 rental properties available in Blockhouse Bay, 52 in Mt Roskill and New Lynn and 14 in Lynfield. This is great for tenants and not so great for property owners. There is still an expectation of good prices from owners which can drive the market higher. In the latest Bond Centre stats, both Epsom and Westmere had reductions in median rent in their areas. This could potentially happen in other suburbs as well, so it’s always a good idea to keep a regular check of prices in your area.

Statistics are available monthly from Tenancy Services website:  www.tenancy.govt.nz

If you are looking to rent your property on this type of market it is important to be proactive regarding the price. On a $500 per week property, if you are not getting tenants it is far better to reduce the price to $480 which is a $20 difference per week. To put this into perspective, it would take 24 weeks to make up the loss of one week’s rent at $480, and double that for two weeks without rent. You are able to carry out a rent review after 6 months and can always increase the rent at that stage. The longer a property is not rented, the bigger the overall loss to the owner.

Janne Breetvelt
City Property Management
557 Blockhouse Bay Rd
Ph 021 720-950