In Brief: Is it really a renter’s market?

As rents fall in parts of New Zealand, some have claimed we’re finally in a “renter’s market”. But the bigger picture tells a different story: rents increased 25% between 2020 and 2025, low-income New Zealanders pay some of the highest rents in the world, and homelessness is at an all-time high.Renters United president Luke Somervell joins Ollie Neas to discuss the reality of life for renters in New Zealand, the role renters play in sustaining New Zealand’s system of housing speculation, and what it would take to make renting a genuine long-term alternative to home ownership.