After a high letting month in November, with enquiries, viewings, applications and signed leases all trending upwards, our team are keeping up the momentum as we close out the year.
There’s no doubt 2022 has been another massive twelve months, for the property management and rentals industry, as well as the wider property market and economy at large.
The Government has taken some solid steps toward regulating the property management industry, culminating in the announcement last month that all property managers will soon (well, in 2026) need to be registered, trained and licensed, with complaints dealt with through a new regulatory framework.
While this could be quite a change for some, we’ve been regulating ourselves, so to speak, in the absence of government intervention until this point. All staff on our Lodge Rentals team have their Level 4 Property Management qualification, and we’re frequently upskilling on legislation changes and best practice.
The announcement also encompassed the Healthy Homes compliance deadline being pushed out a year, so that all private rentals must comply by 1 July 2025. Additionally, public consultation will be sought on new rules on methamphetamine residue levels.
On the theme of Government announcements, the last few weeks have also seen $150.6 million of the Infrastructure Acceleration Fund allocated to Hamilton. This will allow for the construction of a new pedestrian and cycle bridge into the city, 4,000 new houses as well as water infrastructure including a new reservoir and pump station; all good news for our growing city.
In other milestones, this year has also seen the Medium Density Residential Standards come into effect, changes in May to the Healthy Homes heating standard, and we celebrated the first National Property Managers’ Day. Plus, our borders opened after two years and we all tried to move past the P-word (pandemic) – quite the year!
Our early thoughts about 2023
While I can sometimes be hesitant to get caught up in too much forecasting about the year to come, I do think the rental market will remain stable into 2023, with the first quarter looking positive given the market as it currently sits.
At the end of the day, what affects the market is the economics of supply and demand. Right now, as I’ve consistently noted we don’t have the rental housing supply to meet demand and what I see on the horizon will only add to the demand side of the equation.
Some market demand forces at play in the next few months include an influx of international students coming in to start the first University semester in February, medical professionals taking up contracts at Waikato Hospital (helped along by the Government’s newly revised immigration settings), and the number of out-of-towners looking for rental properties. 37 per cent of our new lettings in November were to those moving to Hamilton from elsewhere, the highest it’s been since we started tracking earlier this year.
I recently noticed three tower cranes all within a few blocks of Hamilton CBD. This is a great signal that Hamilton is continuing its remarkable growth trajectory.
Over on the real estate side of Lodge, managing director Jeremy O’Rourke is seeing some positive signals across the property market, with many thinking that with interest rates rising now is the time to get in and buy, with both first home buyers and investors looking to make their move.
Lastly, our enquiries haven’t dropped off at all, so it’s certainly looking like more of the same for the rental market in 2023.
What’s more, our industry doesn’t go into hibernation as many do over the Christmas and New Year period. Our Grey Street office will be open throughout the holiday period, and will only close on the statutory holidays, so our team will be available to both our landlords and tenants who may need us. Do get in touch if you need anything over this time, or want to talk over your 2023 investment plans; we’re here to help.
See you in the new year,
Jason Waugh
General Manager, Lodge City Rentals
