The grass isn't greener on the other side, and the rent is just as ridiculous.

People attempting to escape record high median rental costs in Wellington city are running into the hard truth: the crisis is regionwide.

December Trade Me figures released on Thursday show the median asking rent for central Wellington has topped $600 a week.

Former renter Maree Bayer said after her experience in Porirua, that $600 figure sounded cheaper than the reality.

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Bayer said she and her husband had to give up their rental property in Stokes Valley, Upper Hutt, in early 2019 because the owner wanted to move back in.

Ross Giblin Porirua's harbour entrance is a beautiful backdrop to high regional rental costs.

They found a $620-a-week home in the northern Porirua suburb of Whitby - with four bedrooms, but no sun and non-functioning electric garage doors.

When they moved out in October the house was immediately relisted for $699 a week - a $79 increase in the space of about seven months, she said.

Nowadays they live in Levin, after buying their own home in the Horowhenua town and paying less than what it cost to rent in Porirua.

"The only positive thing I can say, really [about renting] is that thanks to paying really inflated prices ... we were able to get a mortgage, because they could see we were paying $620 constantly, every week, never missing a rent payment."

The couple were now in their own two-bedroom home - bought for under $400,000, she said.

MAARTEN HOLL/STUFF Central Wellington has just posted a new record high median asking price for rentals.

Bayer said even with rates and their mortgage they were still saving about $120 a week on what they were paying for rent to the south. They had good neighbours and while she previously never thought she would live in Levin, "I'm actually really happy where we are".

Her husband worked in Kāpiti and she was looking for a job herself, she said.

On Thursday Trade Me spokesman Aaron Clancy said the Wellington region was the most expensive in the country at a record-breaking $580 a week, "and the number of inquiries we are seeing on rental properties in the area is extraordinary".

JIM RICE Renters acros the Wellington region face challenging times with high demand and prices.

Clancy said demand for rentals in Upper Hutt and Porirua rose 21 per cent year-on-year, while South Wairarapa had an 80 per cent jump in inquiries and rentals in Kāpiti Coast properties received 16 per cent more inquiries than the year before.

A renter in her 60s on the Kāpiti Coast, who did not wish to be named, said her weekly rent had jumped by about $80 in a single hit in recent years. Her landlord was likely to sell up in the next few years and she faced finding a new home in the overheated market on a small income.

She said she was "lucky" because she had options, such as moving in with a son in Australia, or in a home bought by a brother.

"But I'm thinking of the others who are here as well [renting in Kāpiti]: The single mums that have moved here because there was work in the aged care. They're struggling to find somewhere they can afford."

Several renters in Porirua reported paying $750 for three-bedroom homes in Porirua suburbs, and doubted whether it was in fact cheaper outside of central Wellington.