Busy December underscores renters’ choice and pricing power
The rental market finished 2025 with an unexpectedly active December across Auckland, Northland, and Bay of Plenty, even after a generally subdued year.
Barfoot & Thompson recorded its busiest December in years, with a sharp lift in tenant activity across its network.
“Enquiries on our listings reached 22,425 during the month, the highest since December 2020 and up 31.9% on December 2024,” said Anil Anna (pictured), general manager property management for Barfoot & Thompson..
The number of groups attending viewings rose 13.8% year-on-year, even though fewer viewing slots were held. Rental applications were up 14.4% to 2,830, still below the 4,000+ recorded each December from 2020 to 2023.
“As a result, we rented 598 properties during December, up 9.3% on December 2024 and the highest for any December in at least the past five years.
“While things normally slow down ahead of the holiday period, this year we saw strong levels of interest well into the month of December, including right up to Christmas and between the statutory holidays in some areas, from renters who were focused and decisive in their searches.”
Young families and students drive demand
Family and student demand underpinned much of the late‑year activity.
“Notable in most areas was the number of young families looking to secure a tenancy before Christmas, or lock one in for the New Year," Anna said. "Many were seeking properties within their chosen school zones, ready for the 2026 Term One start.”
In the Auckland city centre, enquiry was dominated by tertiary students organising accommodation for the new academic year.
“There is currently plenty of stock in the CBD apartment market, and therefore choice for renters, as we head into the busier January and February period there,” Anna said.
Rents remain steady despite stronger activity
Despite the clear uptick in enquiry and leasing volumes, rents remained largely flat at year end, extending 2025’s subdued pricing trend.
“Competitive pricing and presentation remains key to attracting renter interest in the current market,” Anna said, noting around 40% of properties rented during December required a reduction from the original listing price before securing a tenancy.
In Auckland, where residential property values have only recently begun to stabilise after earlier declines, the average weekly rent sat at $696.19 at the end of December. This was broadly unchanged from November’s average of $696.33, but up $5.55 or 0.8% on December 2024’s average of $690.64.
Three-bedroom homes lead the Auckland market
Three-bedroom homes continued to be the most common and generally most popular rental type across Auckland.
Average rents for this property type were $700.21 per week in December, up 1.2% year-on-year – the same rate of change recorded in November.
Across all property sizes, the strongest annual rises in average weekly rent were in Rodney and North Shore, both up 1.9% year-on-year, reaching $710.84 and $740.97 per week respectively.
Branches in Northland and Bay of Plenty recorded similar steady movement in overall pricing trends, moving by 0.2% and 0.5% respectively between November and December 2025.
With many agents expecting strong enquiry in January and February, attention is now on whether December’s momentum carries through into early 2026 or proves to be a one‑off spike after a subdued year.
See Auckland's latest monthly report here.
Stay informed with the latest housing market trends and mortgage insights — subscribe to our free daily newsletter.
