2021 in RPM — a year of Cs

Head of Property Management at REINZ, Jo Rae, connected with key players in the Residential Property Management sector across the regions to learn what happened in their world in 2021 — covering COVID-19, ways of adapting work, weekly rental records and more.

Pam Hight

Rental Division Manager, McDonald Real Estate Ltd , Taranaki

Taranaki holds the fort in RPM

Whilst Auckland has grappled with the complexities of operating in an extended lockdown, Taranaki has had the good fortune to lead a comparatively normal life — with some restrictions. With New Plymouth named the most liveable city for a population between 75,000 and 150,000, and the city with the most sunshine hours recorded in New Zealand, there has been something to celebrate amidst the problems COVID-19 has brought to our region.

For property management, the last year has been the year of Cs — some good and some bad. COVID-19, compliance, change, calm and common sense.

The last two Cs have been the most important to our team at McDonald Real Estate. To manage the rest of the Cs, we have kept reminding ourselves problems will be resolved with a calm manner and the use of common sense.

Our portfolio of 780 properties has remained stable since COVID-19 changed our lives in 2020. We have not been immune to losing managements as owners repatriate from overseas or have decided to sell after the rise in house prices.

We have worked hard to replace these properties by being experts in our field. With eight offices around our mountain, we have offered expertise and a hands-on property manager in every town — and that local knowledge has been invaluable when seeking out new business.

Looking ahead into 2022

Our biggest challenge for 2022 is the shortage of rental housing in our region. With working from home becoming the new normal, we are seeing young people move away from the main cities to our region for an economic and lifestyle change, which has put pressure on available rental housing. Demand is outweighing supply at all levels of housing, resulting in some disheartening stories.

This puts a lot of pressure on our property managers, who are not immune to the desperation of potential tenants and the situation they find themselves in.

I am proud of our McDonald Real Estate team, who show a great willingness to learn and be there for each other. We have developed a great culture, and I believe that is key to having a successful rental division.

Here’s to a 2022 of Ss — systems, structure, stability, and most of all, success for us all.

Christian Casbolt

CEO, Oxygen Property Management

Wellington — the rental record-breaker

Wellington had a strong start to 2021, with the median weekly rent hitting a record-breaking $615 in January, becoming the first region in the country to do so. With the level of house price increases in Wellington, we saw many first home buyers live in their rental properties for longer whilst they save for a house deposit.

For the first time, Hutt Valley overtook Wellington city to become the most expensive area to live in the region. Wellington tenants started to look outside the city fringe to find more affordable living and more room for the increasingly necessary work from home set up — many opting for a longer commute in exchange for cheaper rent.

When the nationwide COVID-19 lockdown hit in August, the rental market saw demand in the Wellington region decrease by 6%, and supply saw a downwards trend of 2%.

Stock level struggles in Hawke’s Bay

Young couples, families and elderly people make up the growing rental demographic in Hawke’s Bay. But like the cities, supply outweighs demand.

While warmer, safer and drier homes are a win-win for everyone, making the necessary changes to comply with new requirements is costly for many landlords. As a result, an increasing number are selling up, taking much-needed stock off the market. This low level of rental stock has forced some people into emergency housing in Hawke’s Bay.

Keep calm and carry on

Looking back on 2021, I concur that this was indeed a ‘year of Cs’ for us at Oxygen. Fortunately, we had a relatively stable year across the board and were able to transition well into lockdown. My observation is that the challenges and learnings of 2020 increased resilience in the profession in general. Our thinking on flexible work practices pushed forward a major revamp of our IT platform to be fully cloud-based and geared towards remote working.

2022 will undoubtedly see further challenges compared to the pre-COVID world, but the property management profession has shown immense resilience and adaptability. It’s important for us to be prepared to be flexible and remain focused on the key deliverables.

FOR PROPERTY MANAGEMENT, THE LAST YEAR HAS BEEN THE YEAR OF CS — SOME GOOD AND SOME BAD. COVID-19, COMPLIANCE, CHANGE, CALM AND COMMON SENSE.