New data shows renters still have to spend about 40 percent of an average individual's income on rent each month. Photo: RNZ / Nate McKinnon
Data shows Kiwis spend 40% of income on rent
Rents might have eased but New Zealand renters still have to spend about 40 percent of an average individual's income on rent each month, new data shows.
Property Knowledge has released a new report in conjunction with property managers Property Brokers, which tracks how rents compare to earnings around the country.
It shows while at a national level, renters spent 40 percent of their income on rent in August, Wellington is the cheapest region, at 34 percent, while Bay of Plenty renters are spending 47 percent.
In dollar terms, Otago and Auckland have the highest rents. Otago had the highest monthly average recorded over five years between January 2020 and August 2025, at $3033. But in August, Auckland had the highest, at $2817.
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Average monthly earnings nationally were $6367 at the August snapshot, with Wellington ranked first at $7116 and the West Coast at the bottom with $5359. Wellington also had the highest over five years.
Professor Graham Squires, of Lincoln University, led the research and said the highest rent-to-income percentage recorded between January 2020 and August 2025 was 54 percent in Gisborne. The highest the national level reached was 45 percent.
Auckland renters spend an average 40 percent but the highest level recorded there was 46 percent.
Over the past year, a number of regions had a fall in the percentage of income required for rent. This was led by Gisborne, followed by Nelson Bays and Wellington, then Northland, Otago and Marlborough.
The biggest drop in dollar terms was in Wellington, down $225 a month over a year, and Nelson and Bays, down $130 a month. Southland rents increased $130.
On a national level, affordability did not change even as average rents dropped $22 a month.
"Wellington's been struck quite hard, given public sector jobs have fallen away," Squires said.
"There's no hiding from that fact really… to see that coming through in the data is quite telling. As we track this index over time the rental changes in regions such as Wellington are going to be interesting to follow."
Professor Graham Squires, of Lincoln University. Photo: Supplied
Wellington had a year-on-year fall in earnings of $37 a month. Canterbury was down $6. But Gisborne was up $667 and Southland $127.
"The story over the past year has been rents falling by and large," Squires said.
"You can sort of see that in part following what's happening with mainstream housing sales. Given that a third of the stock is rented out, that's going to be a significant problem for those that rent out the properties - the landlords.
"You're sort of seeing an ease in pressure for some tenants. We're seeing that in Gisborne given incomes are increasing. But when we look at this data, what type of economies are in which regions? There's been a very different economy to what Auckland is, to what Wellington is. You could argue Gisborne is a bit more based around the agricultural seasonal sort of stuff."
He said while price growth and rental prices had tended to trend upwards over the longer term, the downturn and stagnant market had made some people wonder what might be next.
"It's not going to be a rapid bounce back to what it was five years ago pre-Covid…. You could argue that markets are corrected but I don't think once corrected they're going to be on the same sort of trajectory they once were."
Renters United president Luke Somervell said the data was interesting given the reports that it was a renter's market "or a bonanza for renters at the moment". "What we're really seeing in this data is that renters aren't getting bargain prices… we're just seeing them going from paying over half their income in rent to a third… I don't think renters are going to be breaking out the champagne any time soon."
He said renters wanted more security. "We've seen some good things from this government in making it easier to build and it's specifically related to the areas people want, like in central cities, by rapid transit lines and the rest of it… we definitely encourage that but we think we also need to make sure renters are getting looked after."
He said it was also important to note that things would be harder again for those earning less than the average.
"Minimum wage earners on average will get $3670 a month. For some people that's going to mean more than two-thirds of their income on rent if you're using the national average of $2500. Beneficiaries, I don't know where to start. I think for a single parent with two kids it's like $2000 a month in benefits and the national rent is $2500 so without other supplements they would be in trouble."
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