Rent in New Zealand is at an all-time high, with the national median weekly rent reaching $595 in January, according to the latest Trade Me Property data.

Following three stagnant months when the national median weekly rent remained at $580, rent jumped four per cent or $25 a week in January when compared to the same month last year.

Trade Me Property sales director Gavin Lloyd says the jump will be 'unpleasant news” for renters.

Along with the new national record, the Auckland ($630), Bay of Plenty ($615), Marlborough ($550), Northland ($580), Taranaki ($580), Waikato ($540), and Wellington ($660) regions hit their highest median weekly rents of all time last month.

'Looking at the year-on-year percentage change, the Northland (+16 per cent), Taranaki (+14 per cent), and Manawatū/Whanganui (13 per cent) regions saw rents climb the furthest in January.”

The national median weekly rent for an urban property jumped to a new high of $530 last month, climbing six per cent year-on-year.

The media rent for an apartment was $525, townhouses was $630, and units were $480.

Gavin says the national median weekly rent for large properties with five or more bedrooms reached a milestone in January, jumping eight per cent to $1000 a week for the first time.

Medium properties, with three or four, bedrooms, also hit a new high of $670, up three per cent in 12 months.

But the Wellington region was an outlier last month, with no change in the median weekly rent for an urban property in 12 months, remaining at $590. Rents for units (-3 per cent) and apartments (-2 per cent) fell year-on-year.

Median weekly rent for large properties fell by four per cent in 12 months, while rents for medium-sized properties in the region remained flat on the year prior, while the median weekly rent for small properties, of one or two bedrooms, in Wellington reached a new high of $580.

The number of rental listings nationwide increased by one per cent year-on-year in January and marked 10 consecutive months of supply jumps.

Nearly every region had an increase in listings when compared with January 2022, but the biggest were seen in the lower North Island, where rental listings were up 52 per cent in Manawatū/Whanganui and 40 per cent in Wellington.

But demand also increased in January.

'Following three months of year-on-year downturns, last month demand picked back up with an eight per cent year-on-year increase,” says Gavin.

But only time would tell how the rental market would be affected in those regions hit by Cyclone Gabrielle and flooding.

'What we do know is that January marked the second month in a row where the median weekly rent in Auckland, Hawke's Bay, and Northland reached a record high. And in the wake of the recent devastating weather events, we would expect supply to fall significantly in the coming months which will put more stress on the tenants in these regions.”

-Brianna McIlraith/Stuff.