Rental shortage explodes
Surge comes as teens flee parents’ coop after Covid-19 lockdown
Hawke’s Bay property managers say the region’s rental shortage has unexpectedly exploded after lockdown, and youngsters sick of spending time with their parents might be to blame.
The already tight rental market in the region is again straining at the seams and some wannabe renters are waiting three months for a viewing.
Hawke’s Bay Properties owner-director Dee Penno-Phillips said she was startled by the amount of young adults wanting to move out of their parents’ homes after the Covid-19 lockdown.
“We didn’t expect such a flurry of people wanting to move in alert level 3, in particular younger people wanting to move out of home for the first time after alert level 4 lockdown,” she said.
“It was highly unusual to have so many in this age group wanting rental properties. They all definitely wanted to move out of their parents’ homes.”
Penno-Phillips said the return of many to the region from overseas, and the inability of youngsters to go on OEs, had also created a burst of action in the rental market.
“We were also surprised during alert level 3, where we had a lot of applications to go through. In one case, we went through 48 applications prior to a viewing.”
Newlyweds Caylah Cherry and husband Jay spent three months looking for a rental property in the region before succeeding.
“We were lucky to find this property in Marewa through word of mouth when we did,” she said. “We moved in last week.
“It’s super hard for people at the moment to find rentals as there are so many people applying.
“We had to stay with my parents throughout lockdown with the kids as we had nowhere to go.”
Megan Helm, a single mother of three, hasn’t been so lucky.
“I’ve been looking for a rental since February 27, since my landlord issued me with a notice to vacate,” she said.
“Had lockdown not happened and Jacinda Ardern put a stop to all terminations, I would be homeless.”
Helm said she applies for multiple properties a day, with the same response — unsuccessful.
“I feel that given the housing shortage, the landlords and property managers are able to be extremely picky,” she said.
“I have three weeks and if I don’t find anything, I’ll have to get emergency housing in a motel, which puts a roof over mine and the girls’ heads, but most motels are charging between $1500 and $2000 a week.”
Pukeko Rental Managers retail manager Vicky Harris said she had received more than 40 applications for a two-bedroom flat in the region within the first 24 hours of listing.Most applicants had been “unemployed in emergency housing” in recent weeks.
Property manager Duncan Reid said smaller, one and two-bedroom properties were sought after.