Rents, wages and regions: What’s really changing in New Zealand’s rental market?
New Zealand’s rental market is showing signs of relief, with affordability improving across most regions over the past year. But look beneath the headline numbers and a much more interesting picture emerges – one where rents, earnings, housing supply and regional conditions are all pulling in different directions.
For anyone involved in the rental market, whether you own an investment property, rent a home or simply want to understand where things are heading, affordability matters.
But affordability isn’t just about how much the weekly rent is.
It’s about the relationship between what people pay and what they earn – and Property Brokers’ latest Regional Rental Report, produced with The Property Knowledge, shows why that distinction matters.
The September 2026 report examines rental affordability, weekly rents and earnings across New Zealand’s regions, alongside longer-term analysis covering May 2019 to June 2026.
As the results show, there isn’t really one New Zealand rental market.
“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 Graham Squires, Director, The Property Knowledge
Affordability is improving across much of New Zealand
The latest data provides some welcome news.
In the year to June 2026, 15 of the 16 regions analysed recorded an improvement in the proportion of earnings required to pay rent, 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, from 48% to 43%, and Marlborough, from 45% to 40%.
That is encouraging, particularly for households that have spent several years navigating rising housing and living costs. But what is driving the improvement is just as important as the headline numbers.
At a national level, weekly rents were effectively flat.
The national weekly rent moved from $636 in June 2025 to $635 in June 2026 – a decrease of just $1.
There were much larger movements within individual regions. 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.
As Property Brokers General Manager Property Management David Faulkner explains, this isn't simply a story about rents falling.
“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.” - David Faulkner, General Manager Property Management, Property Brokers
The other side of the equation 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.
Together, those figures tell perhaps the most important story in the latest data: affordability has improved across much of New Zealand alongside flatter national rents and rising earnings.
“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.”
- David Faulkner
While the latest annual figures are encouraging, zooming out reveals just how differently rental affordability has moved around New Zealand.
The report takes a longer-term view, examining how regional rental affordability changed between May 2019 and November 2023, and between November 2023 and June 2026.
Between May 2019 and November 2023, affordability deteriorated in some regions and improved in others. 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, 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 only slightly, from 41% to 40%.
Wellington is a particularly interesting example. Its weekly rent has fallen since late 2023 while earnings have increased, demonstrating why both sides of the household ledger need to be considered when assessing affordability.
“Rents matter enormously, but so too does what people earn.”
- Professor Graham Squires
The longer-term figures also demonstrate why movements in rental affordability should not be attributed to any single factor.
Government policy can influence the rental market, but so too can interest rates, migration, wages, construction, investor confidence, local supply and demand, and the availability of homes.
Faulkner says the regional differences reinforce the complexity of the 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.”
In many parts of New Zealand, yes - but the answer deserves context.
The past year has brought broad improvement, with higher earnings and softer rental growth taking some pressure off households.
But significant regional differences remain, and the longer-term data demonstrates why national averages can't tell us everything about what's happening on the ground.
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.”
For rental property owners, the latest figures are a useful reminder that decisions shouldn't be made on national headlines alone.
A market experiencing flat rents may still offer a very different environment from one where rents are increasing but local earnings are keeping pace. Changes in vacancy levels, employment, housing supply and tenant demand can materially alter the outlook from one region to the next.
That's where good local knowledge counts.
With Property Brokers teams deeply connected to communities across provincial New Zealand, we see these differences playing out at ground level – from changing tenant demand and rental expectations to the pressures facing landlords and the opportunities emerging for investors.
The national numbers give us the big picture. Understanding what’s happening in your local market is what turns that information into something useful.
If you're considering your next move, reviewing the performance of an existing rental property or simply want to understand what changing market conditions could mean for your investment, talk to your local Property Brokers property management team.
