Good news for landlords – though not for renters themselves – is the way that rents in Auckland are surging, with renters paying up to NZ$60 more a week than they were a year ago in some suburbs.

Prices for all suburbs have gone up for two- and three-bedroom properties, according to figures from local property management specialists Crockers, which looked at median prices over the six months to the end of February 2015 and compared them with the same period last year.

The highest increases have been in Devonport, where rents for two- and three-bedroom houses have increased on average NZ$60 per week to NZ$495 (a 13% rise) and NZ$678 (10%) respectively. Takapuna and Milford saw the next largest rent hikes, up 10% for two-bedroom houses to NZ$531 per week, followed by Meadowbank, Glendowie and Remuera South where two- and three-bedroom rentals have risen 9%, up to NZ$450 and NZ$653 per week respectively.

By comparison, rents across New Zealand as a whole have increased 4.2% over the same period.