Weekly rent prices across Queenstown Lakes and Central Otago have skyrocketed in the past 12 months – and setting a new national record.
It is the first area to break the $900 mark on average for rent per week.
The red-hot region in Otago bucks the national trend for rent, which has fallen.
Latest figures from realestate.co.nz showed New Zealand’s average rent as a whole was $629 per week, down 1.9% compared to February last year.
But it's a different story for the picturesque Southern Lakes where data showed an average 12.1% increase to $902 per week.
The region where weekly rent prices have skyrocketed - watch on TVNZ+
It was mostly driven by the tourism magnets of Queenstown and Wānaka where rent is $993 and $924 per week respectively.
Spokesperson for the real estate listings website Vanessa Williams said the area was "in a league of its own".
“We have seen it for the first time, hit over $900 a week in average weekly rents. And when you think about the type of people that are living down potentially renting, man, that's quite the jump,” she said.
Queenstown Lakes Mayor John Glover is well and truly aware of the situation so the latest figures did not come as a surprise.
“We have seen, over the years, people come to this district to set up. It's a really hard place to stay, and people often move on and that's not good for our economy, it's not good for our community.”
Williams added: “I do think we need to see that correction of supply hit the demand that is down there, [because] as our tourism continues to grow, there's going to be more people in need of housing and affordable housing at that.”
Home hunter is 'after anything at this point'
North Canterbury local Luke Chisnall was on the hunt for a place to rent in Queenstown to take up an important tourism role.
“It's giving me a pretty cool opportunity to head down there and, you know, sort of do what I've always wanted to do and that's jet-boat driving.”
But Chisnall told 1News, accommodation has been a slight barrier and he was on the search early to find a spot.
“I've sort of tried to get out there, placing early to sort of secure a spot. I don't really want to be a couple weeks out and so now I have a place to stay a bit of a stuff up there, but yeah… it's certainly been really hard.
"It is certainly getting a little bit stressful now that we're you know within a month of moving down there.
"I'm sort of just after anything at this point… the cheapest room or steady apartment that I found was about $400.”
Mixed results in other centres
Elsewhere, Coromandel has had an even larger percentage jump compared to last February with a 16.4% increase to $662.
Meanwhile Auckland, Canterbury and the rest of Otago rent prices were either down slightly or stagnant by -1.1%, 0% and -1.2% respectively.
The Auckland average per week was now $682; Canterbury was steady on $586 and Otago was on $531.
And our capital, Wellington, had the biggest drop -7.1% to $625.
Williams told 1News: "What's really interesting to watch is how much the rental market and the for-sale market marry in with each other.”
“Those people who have the ability to work from home, perhaps they're rethinking the way in which they achieve that work, and perhaps thinking about living a little bit more rurally or regionally, and then coming into the big centres.”
The Queenstown mayor said council will continue to work and find solutions to address price and supply, with fast-track housing development approval; build-to-rent schemes; and a regional deal that is still being worked on.
“What we've found so far is building more houses hasn't equated to lower rental costs,” Glover said.
“What has been successful in the past has been the scheme where we've had contributions from developers as they up-zone their land from rural to housing and a contribution gets made to our local community housing trust. We know that works really, really well,” he said.
But for many such as jet-boat driver Chisnall, the search will continue to find a place to call home in our tourism mecca soon.
“It doesn't need to be that expensive but down there… it's got the demographic to be so expensive.”
“Not really sure what I’ll do if I can't find a spot.”
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