Families struggling as Bay of Plenty overtakes Auckland as priciest region in the country

A Tauranga family of six who fear they will be homeless soon. A Pāpāmoa dog trainer who is contemplating moving back to Auckland and a Rotorua beauty queen who only escaped motel living due to
an act of kindness. These are just some emerging scenarios as average rents in the Bay of Plenty hit $670 per week – the highest in the country. Harriet Laughton reports.

A Tauranga working family with four children fear they could be homeless if they don’t find a rental before March.

Kaysi Fredericks has applied for more than 100 homes since October after their landlord decided to put their $750-a-week, three-bedroom home in Welcome Bay on the market. It was “scary and painful” to pack up a house and not know where they were moving to, she said.

The family is not alone. Many renters in the Bay of Plenty are struggling, with the region overtaking Auckland in December as the country’s priciest area for tenants.

Trade Me’s latest rental price index shows the median rent went up by 11.7 per cent in the region compared to the previous year, reaching a high of $670 per week. The Western Bay of Plenty surged by 14.2 per cent to $645 and Tauranga rose by 7.7 per cent to $700.

Fredericks said she was alarmed at the rising rents and although they could afford to pay $850 a week, she had started applying for houses upwards of $950 out of sheer “desperation”.

However, that price range meant they would struggle to buy food.

Her husband worked 60 hours a week at the port and she was a pastor and store owner but she believed there were other factors that had made their search for a suitable home a bit more difficult.

The family had two cats, Sugar and Spice, who were therapy animals. Their 13-year-old daughter, Arabella, also had chronic pain disorders, complex regional pain syndrome and functional neurological disorders.

She often required a wheelchair and while Fredericks said they could “handle a couple of stairs”, it would be difficult to do any more.

Their 14-year-old son Aram had autism and she said the cats were vital to their wellbeing.

The family’s predicament brought back bad memories for Fredericks, who said last time they needed a home, they had done more than 500 rental applications.

Emergency housing ‘only option’

Miss Rotorua Pareuruora Rangirangi spent more than seven months in emergency housing last year after her landlord put her house up for sale.

Rangirangi said living in a motel was “depressing” for her four children.

Her 12-year-old and 13-year-old slept in the lounge and kitchen.

Meanwhile, searching for a rental was “emotionally and mentally draining, especially when you were shortlisted but didn’t get the house”, she said.

Sometimes about 40 people would show up for viewings. However, Rangirangi said she was offered a rental in December by a woman she met through the beauty pageant.

The three-bedroom, $600-a-week house was life-changing. She said having her own home was “freedom”. It had big rooms for all the children and a great backyard.

Tauranga renter moves back to Auckland for cheaper rent

Pāpāmoa renter Misha Gildenberger moved to Tauranga four years ago because her $550-a-week rental was better and bigger than the $750 rent she was paying up in Auckland.

“I had amazing landlords who didn’t put my rent up but now they are selling,” Gildenberger said.

She estimated a similar rental would cost about $900 a week in both cities.

Now she was planning to move back to the outskirts of Auckland, where she believed rent would be cheaper.

“I’m heartbroken as I started my own dog training academy in Tauranga.”

Why are rents so high?

“Everybody wants to move to Tauranga.”

Tauranga Rentals principal Dan Lusby said location, climate and job opportunities were the top reasons people were flocking to the Bay.

“But unfortunately that’s just putting so much pressure on their housing stock here in Tauranga,”Lusby said.

He said his property managers were dealing with people who were living in their cars, tents or couch surfing.

“One of my tenants is applying [for] 30 to 40 houses a week and I still can’t get a house for her family to live.”

Tauranga Property Investors spokeswoman Juli Tolley said some of its members received about 50 applications a day for their listings and 40 per cent of those were from out of town.

“The build-up of demand combined with limited stock means rent has continued to increase,” Tolley said.

Tauranga Chamber of Commerce chief executive Matt Cowley said housing for the Western Bay of Plenty’s workforce was a long-term issue.

Housing affordability had consequential impacts.

Workers were asking employers for more money to keep up with rising rental costs, which was only adding to inflation.

“Tauranga is a beautiful place, but people will trade lifestyle with how expensive it is to live, and move around compared to other regions,” Cowley said.

“Failures to meet the demand for housing will compound over time, rising rents faster and make it more unattractive to live here.”

Rotorua Chamber of Commerce chief executive Bryce Heard said while there was a shortage of houses in Rotorua, they were still behind in rental prices.

The average price for a Rotorua rental property last December was $560, according to Trade Me.

Because the rental prices were significantly cheaper than in places like Tauranga and Auckland, more people were flocking to Rotorua, Heard said.

Rotorua Property Investors Association vice president Luke van den Broek although it was “much cheaper” to live in Rotorua than Tauranga or Auckland, the demand has driven the prices up to the highest seen in Rotorua.

“From an investor’s point of view it’s looking good, as interest rates have gone up so fewer people can afford to buy and we are seeing an increase in good quality tenants looking for rental properties,” van den Broek said.

But people were still desperate to find a rental as many landlords had left the market.

People paying more than they can afford

Bay Financial Mentors manager Shirley McCombe said people were paying far more than they could afford to have a roof over their heads.

That meant there was no money for food, insurance, petrol or any other essentials.

“If you qualify, there is help available from Work and Income and you don’t have to be on a benefit,” McCombe said.

Rotorua Budget Advisory Services manager Pakanui Tuhura said he saw clients cutting back everywhere else so they could keep a roof over their head.

Tuhura said every person had different circumstances requiring different needs and people should seek financial advice as soon as they needed it.

Harriet Laughton is a multimedia journalist based in the Bay of Plenty.