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Where have all the houses gone?
ANDREA FOX AND ANGELA CUMING Last updated 05:00 31/03/2012
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House rents in Hamilton could be on the rise soon as some real estate companies report a shortage and strong competition even for modest properties.
The city's biggest rental property manager, Lodge City Rentals, said it was experiencing unprecedentedly low vacancy rates.
General manager David Kneebone said the company's vacancy rate was at 1.12 per cent, the lowest he had seen in 15 years.
Hamilton was traditionally a "tight" rental market, with rentals in shorter supply from February to April, but usually the vacancy rate was about 3 per cent, he said.
Lodge rental manager Jason Waugh said the problem was not a hangover from the traditional New Year rush for student accommodation.
A professional client looking for a two-bedroom unit near the hospital waited for two months for a suitable property to come up, he said.
About 99 per cent of the 3288 properties on the company's books were rented, well above the usual rate.
"They are struggling in every suburb of Hamilton. We will see pressure on rents in the next few months," Mr Waugh said.
Harcourts general manager Brian King said rents were already rising in new areas such as Rototuna.
Lodge's Mr Waugh said an average three-bedroom house in a popular suburb like Glenview was fetching $340 to $350 a week. He expected this to rise, but by how much was unclear.
Lodge estimates about 35 per cent of Hamilton residents rent their homes, a similar level to other main centres.
Hamilton City Council puts the city's population at 142,000 with 50,000 houses. But real estate brokers tend to go by Statistics NZ's tally of 145,600 people.
Lugton's Real Estate rental manager Helen Robinson said the market was the tightest she had seen in 25 years. But she was not sure rents would rise. "It's hard to say, but I wouldn't think so and if it does, it'll only be temporary."
She had 19 parties in one day looking at a $350-a-week "average" three-bedroom Lockwood house with the garage near Lake Rotoroa, and 14 of them applying to rent it.
"It is seasonal and partly because people are not moving around. A lot of property investors are selling and not so many new investors are coming in. A lot of landlords are retiring."
Harcourts Mr King said "good" properties were renting very quickly. But poorly presented rentals in less desirable areas were slow to shift.
"There is certainly a lot less available. A lot of people are coming into the city for work – the Waikato business sector is stronger than most people realise. There's more confidence, a bit more hiring."
Lodge managing director Jeremy O'Rourke said the shortage was no surprise. BNZ chief economist Tony Alexander had been warning for a long time that building consents were not enough to sustain population growth.
Hamilton landlord Graham Dwyer said that from anecdotal evidence it appeared the supply-demand balance was changing to a shortage. But there was no point putting up rent to capitalise on it.
"You need a clear view of what's ahead. There's no point if it [the rent] just has to come down again."
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ANDREA FOX AND ANGELA CUMING Last updated 05:00 31/03/2012
Share
House rents in Hamilton could be on the rise soon as some real estate companies report a shortage and strong competition even for modest properties.
The city's biggest rental property manager, Lodge City Rentals, said it was experiencing unprecedentedly low vacancy rates.
General manager David Kneebone said the company's vacancy rate was at 1.12 per cent, the lowest he had seen in 15 years.
Hamilton was traditionally a "tight" rental market, with rentals in shorter supply from February to April, but usually the vacancy rate was about 3 per cent, he said.
Lodge rental manager Jason Waugh said the problem was not a hangover from the traditional New Year rush for student accommodation.
A professional client looking for a two-bedroom unit near the hospital waited for two months for a suitable property to come up, he said.
About 99 per cent of the 3288 properties on the company's books were rented, well above the usual rate.
"They are struggling in every suburb of Hamilton. We will see pressure on rents in the next few months," Mr Waugh said.
Harcourts general manager Brian King said rents were already rising in new areas such as Rototuna.
Lodge's Mr Waugh said an average three-bedroom house in a popular suburb like Glenview was fetching $340 to $350 a week. He expected this to rise, but by how much was unclear.
Lodge estimates about 35 per cent of Hamilton residents rent their homes, a similar level to other main centres.
Hamilton City Council puts the city's population at 142,000 with 50,000 houses. But real estate brokers tend to go by Statistics NZ's tally of 145,600 people.
Lugton's Real Estate rental manager Helen Robinson said the market was the tightest she had seen in 25 years. But she was not sure rents would rise. "It's hard to say, but I wouldn't think so and if it does, it'll only be temporary."
She had 19 parties in one day looking at a $350-a-week "average" three-bedroom Lockwood house with the garage near Lake Rotoroa, and 14 of them applying to rent it.
"It is seasonal and partly because people are not moving around. A lot of property investors are selling and not so many new investors are coming in. A lot of landlords are retiring."
Harcourts Mr King said "good" properties were renting very quickly. But poorly presented rentals in less desirable areas were slow to shift.
"There is certainly a lot less available. A lot of people are coming into the city for work – the Waikato business sector is stronger than most people realise. There's more confidence, a bit more hiring."
Lodge managing director Jeremy O'Rourke said the shortage was no surprise. BNZ chief economist Tony Alexander had been warning for a long time that building consents were not enough to sustain population growth.
Hamilton landlord Graham Dwyer said that from anecdotal evidence it appeared the supply-demand balance was changing to a shortage. But there was no point putting up rent to capitalise on it.
"You need a clear view of what's ahead. There's no point if it [the rent] just has to come down again."
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