Median rent up $40 a week nationally in September year but almost flat in Auckland

The national median rent for residential properties increased by $40 a week in the 12 months to September, although the annual rent increase in Auckland was much lower at just $10 a week. Ashburton, Timaru and Invercargill were in a three-way tie for having the cheapest median rents in the country at $400 a week, while Porirua had the most expensive median rent at $650 a week, surpassing Tauranga at $630 and Queenstown-Lakes at $620. See the first table below for the median rent in the main urban centres throughout the country. A notable feature of the latest figures is the very weak rental growth in the country's largest city, Auckland. The median rent in Auckland increased from $580 a week in Q3 2021 to $590 in Q3 2022, giving an annual increase of just $10 (+1.7%).