Median rent prices for Auckland have hit a new high in November while asking prices for the whole country inched up.

House rental figures from Trade Me are out - and it is bad news for Auckland renters.

The latest analysis of median asking rents on Trade Me Property showed the cost of renting a typical home in Auckland has surpassed $500 a week for the first time, hitting a new high in November.

This was a lift of 9 per cent over the past year.

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Head of Trade Me Property Nigel Jeffries said breaking through the $500 mark meant an extra $40 for tenants to pay each week, or an annual hit of $2000 a year.

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Supplied Growth in median asking prices for rents were catching up to growth in asking prices for houses for sale.

Despite the lift, rent was not rising as fast as selling price expectations in Auckland.

"The pace of increase in asking prices for properties for sale is slowing however, and median asking rents are catching up. This is especially evident when compared to this time last year, where the increase in asking rents was a far more modest 2 per cent," Jeffries said.

On the other hand, rents in Christchurch fell for the seventh consecutive month compared to the same time last year.

Supplied It's a better story for renters in Christchurch.

The average price has stayed at $420 a week compared to the previous month and this was a 7 per cent decline from $450 a week a year ago.

Jeffries said this was the first time rents across all property types and sizes of homes in the area showed a consistent year-on-year decline.

"It's worth noting that the five-year growth of Christchurch still represents the largest of any of the three main metro areas and any other region of the country, even including its recent downturn," Jeffries said.

Excluding Auckland, median asking rents around the country edged up slightly from $360 per week in October to $370 per week in November.

The most action-packed rental market was the Bay of Plenty, where rents rose by $50 per week in the past year.

Median asking rents across the South Island regions of Canterbury, West Coast, and Nelson saw declines while Otago ticked up 6.3 per cent to $340 per week.

Across the North Island, median asking rents in Northland, Manawatu/Wanganui, and Bay of Plenty all topped double-digit growth when compared to last year.