Source: Property Brokers
Kiwi renters getting some breathing room as affordability improves across almost every region.
After years of mounting pressure on household budgets, rental affordability is showing signs of improvement across almost every region of New Zealand, with new analysis showing rising incomes and a flattening rental market are behind much of the relief.
The latest Regional Rental Report, produced by Property Brokers and The Property Knowledge, found 15 of the 16 regions analysed recorded an improvement in the proportion of earnings required to pay rent over the year to June 2026, while the West Coast remained unchanged.
Nationally, the rent-to-income measure fell from 44% in June 2025 to 40% in June 2026.Gisborne recorded the largest improvement, falling seven percentage points from 52% to 45%, followed by Hawke’s Bay, which fell from 48% to 43%, and Marlborough, from 45% to 40%.Property Brokers’ General Manager Property Management David Faulkner says the figures offer some welcome news for tenants after several challenging years, but what is driving the improvement is just as important as the headline numbers.
“After years of rents and household costs seemingly heading in one direction, we’re seeing some breathing room emerge for renters across much of New Zealand,” Faulkner says.
“But this isn’t a story of rents suddenly becoming cheap. National rents have barely moved over the past year, while earnings have increased across every region in our analysis.
“Affordability isn’t simply about the rent coming out of someone’s account each week. It’s about that rent relative to the income coming in, and right now that equation is beginning to shift.
“The report found the national weekly rent was $635 in June 2026, compared with $636 a year earlier.
However, stark regional differences lie beneath the national figure.Gisborne recorded the largest annual fall, with weekly rents declining $27 from $642 to $615, followed by Taranaki, down $20, and Hawke’s Bay, down $12.At the other end of the spectrum, West Coast rents increased $27 a week, Nelson & Bays increased $25, and Northland increased $17.
Professor Graham Squires, Director of The Property Knowledge and author of the analysis, says the results demonstrate why national rental figures can only tell part of the story.
“There isn’t really one New Zealand rental market. What a renter is experiencing in Gisborne can be very different from the conditions facing someone on the West Coast or in Otago,” Professor Squires says.
“The national picture is becoming more stable, but underneath that we continue to see substantial regional differences influenced by local housing supply, demand, employment and incomes.
“Rising earnings are changing the affordability equation.The other side of the affordability story is what New Zealanders are earning.
The report recorded higher monthly earnings per job across every region over the year to June 2026. Wellington posted the largest annual increase, up $774 to $7,834, followed by Marlborough, up $704, and Nelson, up $661. Nationally, monthly earnings per job increased $484.
Professor Squires says the combination of rising earnings and softer rental growth helps explain why affordability has improved across so much of the country.
“Wellington is a particularly interesting example. Its rent-to-income measure has fallen significantly since late 2023, with the data showing that changes in rents and earnings have played a major role in that improvement.”It reinforces that rental affordability needs to be viewed from both sides of the household ledger. Rents matter enormously, but so too does what people earn.
“Six years of data highlight significant regional differences.The report also takes a longer-term view, examining regional rental affordability between May 2019 and November 2023, and between November 2023 and June 2026.
The results reinforce just how differently rental markets can behave around the country – and why movements in affordability should not be attributed to any one policy, government or economic factor.Between May 2019 and November 2023, the proportion of earnings required for rent increased by eight percentage points in both Hawke’s Bay and Gisborne and seven points in Manawatū-Whanganui.
Over the same period, however, Auckland’s measure fell five percentage points and the national measure fell two points.Regional variation continued between November 2023 and June 2026.
Wellington recorded the largest improvement, with its rent-to-income measure falling from 42% to 35%. Hawke’s Bay and Manawatū-Whanganui also improved by two percentage points.
Elsewhere, affordability pressures increased. The West Coast moved from 27% to 34%, Otago from 38% to 43%, Marlborough from 37% to 40%, Taranaki from 36% to 39%, and Canterbury from 37% to 39%. Nationally, the measure moved from 41% to 40%.Faulkner says the longer-term figures reinforce the complexity of the rental market.”Housing doesn’t respond to a single lever or change overnight. Government policy is one of many factors that can influence the rental market, alongside interest rates, migration, wages, construction, investor confidence, local supply and demand, and the availability of homes.
“The regional differences we’re seeing reinforce why we need to be careful about attributing changes in affordability to any single factor.
“What is clear is that New Zealand needs enough quality rental homes in the places people actually want and need to live. Sustainable housing supply remains fundamental to a healthy rental market.
“For Faulkner, the latest numbers nevertheless provide reason for cautious optimism.
“For the first time in some time, the pressure isn’t moving relentlessly in one direction.
“Not every region is experiencing the same thing, and renting remains a significant household cost. But across much of New Zealand, the combination of flatter rents and improving earnings is giving renters a little more room to move.”
To read the full report, visit: https://www.propertybrokers.co.nz/pbregionalrentalreport
About the Regional Rental Report
The Regional Rental Report is produced by Property Brokers and The Property Knowledge. The September 2026 edition examines rental affordability, weekly rents and earnings across New Zealand’s regions, alongside longer-term analysis covering May 2019 to June 2026. The report draws on MBIE Tenancy Services rental bond data, Property Brokers sample data, Stats NZ data and calculations by The Property Knowledge.
About the authors
David Faulkner is General Manager Property Management at Property Brokers and a recognised New Zealand property management industry commentator and thought leader.
Professor Graham Squires is a Professor of Property Studies, Fulbright Scholar, author of six books, Editor of the Property Management Journal and Director of property research company The Property Knowledge.