It may be a New Year, but we’re still experiencing the same old demand.

A very happy New Year to you from the team at Lodge City Rentals. Here at Lodge, we enjoyed another busy holiday season continuing to help tenants with workable solutions across the board, and ensuring our landlords needs are met – there’s no switching off in the rentals industry!

We’ve started 2024 in the same way we ended 2023, with a very buoyant market and demand for quality rental properties extremely strong across the region. Supply continues to be a constraint, as we struggle nationwide to meet this need with appropriate housing stock. So, if there is one thing you take from this newsletter today it’s this: consider becoming an investor (if you’re not already) or widening your portfolio with a property under management at Lodge.  You won’t regret it, especially in this market.

Certainly, adding to the pressure on the rental market currently is the high number of social housing options sitting empty. Reports show that around 5% of New Zealand’s social housing stock, that is 3906 homes, are currently vacant. There are of course a variety of reasons a home may sit empty in this context; but the wider rental sector would benefit enormously if the pressure on social housing shortlists subsided if a few extra efficiencies are made at an administrative level. I know I’m not telling you anything new here.

It’s only January, and you may be getting the sense already that the pressure is on, and I simply don’t see it easing this year. We will continue to see demand greatly outweigh supply, especially in Hamilton which continues to grow. It may take a few factors to align perfectly to get some streamlining in the sector by the end of the year – including increased investor activity and houses selling, greater efficiencies in the social housing arena, and a much-anticipated easing of economic pressure.

Of course, the end of the year is some 11 months away, which means 11 more months of useful insights, musings, and commentary on our beloved rentals sector before Christmas comes around again.

Until next month,

Jason Waugh

General Manager
Lodge City Rentals