A listing for a two-bedroom rental in Auckland is being ridiculed online, with Reddit users questioning what they say is an extremely high weekly price.
The property on Ngake St in Orakei is advertised on myRent, a platform it says makes tenancies "simpler, cheaper and more transparent", as a "newly renovated, fully furnished two bedroom home".
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With one bathroom, a single covered garage and two uncovered parking spots, the property is being listed for $900 a week - something many online are saying is ridiculous.
The listing was posted on Reddit on Wednesday and quickly caught the attention of users who said that even in Orakei, that price is high.
According to Barfoot and Thompson's November 2018 rental report, the average weekly rent for a two-bedroom property in Auckland eastern suburbs is $518. On property site OneRoof, the median rental figure for the suburb is $710 per week.
Auckland Council lists the property as having a $1.475 million capital value (CV) with a land value of $1.34 million.
One user suggested renting out the garage and lounge to couples to bring the rent to a $115 a week - "basically a steal" they wrote.
"I could attempt to charge $1,000,000 for rent but no-one would pay. I can't see this property being rented. They'll drop the price after a few disappointing days," said a user, while another claimed an average $1 million property would rent for $600 a week.
"I guess you have to have pretty low expectations if you want to live in Auckland these days."
MyRent chief executive Thomas Clement told Newshub the listing was in the top quartile for a two-bedroom house in the area.
"This can be in part explained by the fact it is fully furnished and newly refurbished. The landlord is receiving a normal level of enquiries, many of which are positive and asking for a viewing," he said.
While myRent doesn't provide any input into the valuation of a property, Mr Clement understood the affordability of rentals was frustrating tenants and sympathises with them.
He said recent Government policy changes designed to curb property prices and increase affordability "have significantly reduced the desirability of being a landlord".
"This has had the effect of reducing the supply of rentals and increasing prices. Good for buyers and terrible for tenants."
Others came to the defence of the listing on Reddit saying that they weren't shocked about the price for somewhere in a "desirable area" and that high-income professionals wanting to quickly get into the CBD without traffic would be interested.
The listing says it comes with everything from a heat pump to a built in wardrobe, and is looking for long-term tenants.
Newshub has attempted to contact the landlord.
Newshub.
