Following the annual New Year rent adjustment, New Zealand's median weekly rent fell $5 in February to $430, according to the latest figures in the Trade Me Property Rental Index.

Head of Trade Me Property Nigel Jeffries says while rents were down on January, the overall weekly rent figure was up 4.9 per cent on February last year.

The Bay is now the fourth most expensive area to rent in the country after Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch.

'February has seen rents settle after the January spike, but it's still a pretty difficult market for renters at the moment. Rents are easily outstripping inflation which was up just 0.1 per cent in the final quarter of last year.”

Nigel says the Bay of Plenty continued to see 'incredible growth” while Auckland's rents remained stalled.

'In Auckland tenants continue to be relatively sheltered from hefty increases with the median weekly rent in Auckland unchanged at $500. That's still a 5.3 per cent increase on February 2015, but the rent cost has barely changed in the last nine months. That stable environment is good news for tenants but a tough one for landlords with significant mortgages.”

Around the country, excluding Auckland, the median weekly rent saw a minor dip from January, down $5 to $380. This still represents a $20 increase from February 2015, or 5.6 per cent in a year.

'We routinely see an annual spike in January as landlords readjust their rents for the year,” says Nigel.

'Then in February we typically see rents settle down, and that's exactly what has happened in 2016.”

Around the regions there was a mix of results with 11 of the 15 regions seeing median weekly rent rises over the past year.

'The most dynamic property market in the country is without doubt the Bay of Plenty, and that applies to both the rental market and the for sale market.

'Median weekly rents in the Bay hit a new record high of $400 in February, representing a massive 17.6 per cent increase since February 2015.

'That means tenants in the region are forking out an extra $3,000 a year to rent a typical property than a year ago. The Bay is now the fourth most expensive area to rent in the country after Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch.”

Nigel says in the past two years the Bay of Plenty had leapt from 10 per cent below the national median weekly rent (excluding Auckland), and was now 5 per cent ahead.

Meanwhile, Christchurch tenants have seen median weekly rents remain steadfast for the fifth month in a row, landing at $420 a week and down almost seven per cent on a year ago.

'It looks like rents in Christchurch have settled down after the extreme highs as the rebuild got into full swing. We don't expect to see much change in that market in the coming months either.”

Across the rest of the country, the South Island regions of Canterbury, West Coast and Marlborough saw declines in median weekly rents, and up north Gisborne was the only region with no change.

In addition to the strong rise in the Bay of Plenty, rents increased by 17 per cent in Manawatu/Wanganui and by 10 per cent in Otago.

Waikato hit a new record high of $360 per week, along with Nelson/Tasman with $370 per week.

Following the trend we saw in January, smaller houses continue to drive rent increases and reached a record high of $350 per week, up 7.7 per cent increase on last year and adding $1300 to the annual rental bill.

In Christchurch, large houses saw unchanged asking rents, with declines in all other house sizes.

Medium houses saw the biggest decrease, down more than 9 per cent.

The humble unit continued to see significant median weekly rent rises, breaking through a new record level of $360 a week in February and up more than 12 per cent in the past year.

Nigel says while Auckland was a key driver in the unit market, it's interesting to see the rise in popularity of units outside the major metro areas.

'The Bay of Plenty has seen median weekly rents for units rise 21 per cent in the past year, and now sits at $315 a week. Meanwhile in Northland, weekly rents for units are up 30 per cent in the past year to $260 a week.

'In the Manawatu/Wanganui rents of units topped $218 a week in February up 22 per cent.”

In Auckland, landlords with apartments are having a slightly better time with asking rents ticking up by $10 per week to hit a new record high of $460 per week in February, after 10 consecutive months where asking rents have been static at $450 per week.