Compared to the cities of Auckland and Christchurch, Wellington city commanded the highest median weekly rent of $580, coupled with the highest annual median rent rise of 7.4 percent, compared to October 2018.



The median weekly rent in Christchurch city rose by 5 percent, to $420, while in Auckland city, it rose by 3.6 percent, to $570.



Aaron Clancy, head of rentals at Trade Me, said that landlords are fielding a high number of tenant enquiries, indicating that many renters are trying to get ahead of the game and secure a property before Christmas.



"October saw a growing demand for rentals in our three main metros, with the number of enquiries on rentals in Christchurch city rising a staggering 28 percent on October 2018," Clancy said.



Enquiries on rental properties within Auckland city during October were up 14 percent compared with October last year, while in Wellington city, enquiries were up by 7 percent.



The most popular rental property in New Zealand



Rental enquiries are up in the three main cities, but the property fielding the highest amount of interest across the country last month is located in Fairfield Avenue in Fairfield, Lower Hutt.



"The two-bedroom house was listed for $340 per week in October and saw an incredible 117 enquiries in the first two days onsite," Clancy confirmed.



Outside of Fairfield, other Wellington-based properties that attracted a similar level of interest in October were located in Mortimer Terrace in Aro Valley and Randwick Crescent in Woburn, attracting 101 and 93 enquiries respectively over the first two days they were listed on Trade Me's web site.



How much are Kiwi renters paying?



Trade Me Property results for October show that the median cost for Kiwis renting a home across all property types is $500 per week, up 4.2 percent compared to October last year.



The rental market appears to be more active than a year ago, with the number of enquiries on rental listings up 17 percent last month, compared to October 2018.



Aside from Northland, almost every region saw a year-on-year increase in median rent last month, with double-digit growth in the Hawkes Bay, Manawatu/Wanganui, the West Coast and Wellington regions.



Which region had the highest percentage rent increase?



Outside of the three largest cities, renters are facing are similar situation of rising rents.



In the Hawkes Bay region, the median weekly rent (October 2019 compared to October 2018), rose by 18.4 percent to $450, while rents in the Waikato and Manawatu/Wanganui regions reached new records.



In the West Coast, the median weekly rent rose by 15.4 percent to $300, while in the Manawatu/Wanganui region, the median weekly rent rose by 14.7 percent, to $390.



Median weekly rents in the Waikato region rose by a more modest 6 percent year-on-year, to $445.