Source: MIL-OSI Submissions
Rental price indexes: April 2020
13 May 2020
The rental price indexes measure the changes in prices that households pay for housing rentals.
Key facts
Monthly change
In April 2020 compared with March 2020:
- the index for the stock measure of rental property prices rose 0.4 percent
- the index for the flow measure of rental property prices fell 1.8 percent.
Annual change
In April 2020 compared with April 2019:
- the index for the stock measure of rental property prices increased 3.5 percent
- the index for the flow measure of rental property prices increased 0.2 percent.
A note on the rental price index methodology and COVID-19
The rental price index is a monthly series with two measures: the stock and the flow. The stock measure of rents shows rental price change across the whole rental population – including renters currently in tenancies. This measure most closely aligns with the conceptual basis for general inflation (consumers price index, CPI) and national accounts measures that use the CPI. Stock measures are less sensitive to month-by-month changes in the market. This is because they include all tenancies, including both established tenancies where rents may have been unchanged for months or years and new tenancies.
The flow measure of rents captures rental price change only for dwellings that have a new bond lodged against them in each new month. Flow measurements are useful for showing turning points in the rental market. They are comparable with other measures such as the Trade Me rents measure. The latest tr
