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Rents shoot up 7% as landlords feel the pinch
Page 1 of 2 .........5:00AM Wednesday March 26, 2008
By Andrew Koubaridis
Renters are hurting as much as homeowners - national average rents are up by just over 7 per cent, and the average rental now costs $300 a week.
A Massey University survey shows rents in February were 7.1 per cent higher than last year.
The biggest rises were in Invercargill, Lower Hutt and Napier.
Professor Bob Hargreaves, of Massey University's economic and finance department, said landlords were feeling the pinch of rises in mortgages, insurance and rates.
"[Landlords] have been arguing for a while they need rental increases," he said.
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