According to data from realestate.co.nz, New Zealand’s average weekly rental price fell 3.0% from $648 a week in August 2024 to $628 a week in August 2025.
However, Southland’s average weekly rent hit an all-time high of $509 a week in August this year, up 9.2% from $466 a week this time last year.
Southland property managers have indicated that an increase in rates and insurance has pushed up the rental prices in Invercargill.
Todd & Co property agent Hughie Brierley said the rent increase was in line with landlords’ costs and the demand for rentals was spasmodic.
"It reflects the current climate ... [and] all those costs of maintaining a property," Mr Brierley said.
"Unfortunately, the cost of buying property, maintaining property, rates and insurance all goes up, and that has to reflect in the rent that a landlord needs to charge."
Rent South struggled to attract tenants for three bedroom properties that were rented at $530 to $550 per week.
Rent South Invercargill property manager Leeann Tautari said it had needed to have some "difficult" conversations with its landlords over what was happening in the market and its effect on tenants.
"We have had to educate them [owners] over why they shouldn’t increase their rents because of how all costs have gone up," Ms Tautari said.
"We all understand that things do increase and go up, but sometimes the owner has to take it on the chin in the meantime ... to secure a tenant and relook at it [later] when the market is more buoyant."
Todd & Co Invercargill received a steady number of people to their viewings and had online interest from out-of-towners and those seeking a "cheaper and more affordable lifestyle".
Mr Brierley said there was still an active interest from property investors to buy homes to rent out to immigrants.
"Immigration has definitely provided opportunities for investors as well as tenants," he said.
Nationally, all of New Zealand’s major urban centres recorded a decline in average rental prices when compared with 12 months ago. Wellington experienced the largest year-on-year decline, down 11.8%, followed by Otago (-3.9%), Auckland (-2.3%), Canterbury (-2.1%) and Waikato (-0.6%).
This was driven by increased supply nationally, new rental listings rising 16% year-on-year, reaching 6700 in August 2025 compared with 5775 a year earlier, the data showed.
Wellington led the charge with a 105.8% increase, more than doubling the number of rental properties newly listed in the capital — from 274 listings in August 2024 to 564 last month.
Canterbury also reported a strong surge in listings, with 917 properties listed in August 2025, a 29% increase on August last year.
Realestate.co.nz chief executive Sarah Wood said the data showed how localised the rental market could be.
"While the national trend suggests a softening in rental prices, Southland and the West Coast are clear reminders that the market doesn’t move in unison. Local supply and demand pressures are driving different outcomes across the regions," she said.
