Market Composition

The rental market in Invercargill is split into only two areas. Central Invercargill/Bluff comprises roughly half houses and half flats while houses dominate the suburbs at over 85% of the rental market.

Flats make up the rest of that market, with apartments not featuring in either area (based on recent bonds lodged).

House Size, By Bedroom Count

Three bedroom houses are the most common in the Invercargill rental market. In the suburbs it is by some margin with 73% of houses having three bedrooms while in Central Invercargill/ Bluff they’re 50% of the market. Central Invercargill/Bluff has roughly twice as many two bedroom houses as three, while the suburbs include a few houses with five or more bedrooms but also have a larger percentage of two bedroom houses, followed by three bedroom houses.

Rent And Yield

Median weekly rent across is similar in the two areas, with the suburbs slightly more expensive at $260 compared with $245. The median value is similarly aligned – Central Invercargill/Bluff at $184k and the Suburbs at $212k.

Given this alignment the gross yield in the areas is similar. The lower value Central Invercargill/Bluff area boasts a healthy 6.9% yield, slightly ahead of that in the suburbs – 6.4%.

Rent has dropped over the last year in Central Invercargill/Bluff though – down 2% compared with the suburbs which saw an increase of 4% over the same period.