Landlords may be passing the reigns, with the rental market shifting in the tenants' favour.
A new report has found fewer landlords are planning to increase rent this year as they find it harder to get good tenants.
The latest monthly Investor Insight survey by Crockers Property Management and economist Tony Alexander found an unusual decline in the proportion of investors planning to raise their rents to 70 percent, down from 77 percent.
The report said this result could be the first piece of supporting evidence that rental pressures are easing around the country.
It found that of the landlords planning to increase their rent, the average rent rise they are seeking has declined from 6.1 percent in June to 5.7 percent in July.
There was no change in respondents who said things were about normal when it comes to finding good tenants, sitting at 68 percent of respondents both in July and June.
However, the proportion saying it is easy to find good tenants have fallen from 16 percent to nine percent and the proportion saying things are hard has risen to 23 percent from 16.
The net result is a sharp change in difficulties in finding a good tenant, with a decline in ease and decrease in planned rent raises backing up the idea that things are shifting in favour of tenants.
The survey found the biggest concern of residential property investors is the new government regulations favouring tenants.
In 2021, New Zealand went through the biggest reform of its tenancy laws in 35 years that is being introduced in three phases, with two already in force. The Government also announced changes to the healthy homes standard, which came into effect in May.
