Acting up

Most landlords in Auckland are managing through a prolonged soft patch. Supply is elevated, vacancy times are stretched, and rents are modest or flat. But it’s a different story at the premium end of the market. Character homes in Herne Bay and Ponsonby, executive residences in Remuera, and prestige addresses with waterfront sightlines are in short supply. Demand is being driven, in part, by New Zealand’s screen production sector.

Market performance uneven

Rental inquiries to Auckland’s biggest residential management agency dropped by a quarter last month, with economic pressures cited as one factor. But a changing supply picture could reset the balance.

Year-on-year, new listings on Trade Me were down 5% in February 2026 for the whole of New Zealand, while tenant demand (search activity) was up 6%. A March report recorded 5,263 rental listings on Trade Me in Auckland, compared with 5,856 in the same week last year, representing a 10% decrease in supply.

Below the surface, though, performance is sharply uneven. Across the wider Auckland market, standalone homes on their own sections are outperforming the glut of new-build townhouses.

Character neighbourhoods, such as Ponsonby, Mt Eden, Grey Lynn, and Kingsland, are especially tight, with quality properties reported to be leasing within one to two weeks.

At the prestige end, Remuera’s median weekly rent for a four-bedroom home reached $1,400 in February 2026, up from $1,200 the year before, according to rental data sourced from the most recent REINZ 2026 Rent Review.

Ponsonby recorded a median of $970 per week across all property types, and at the very top of the market, executive short-stay accommodation in Ponsonby and St Mary’s Bay is commanding $3,500 to $5,000 per week.

This is a market where the tenant profile matters as much as the property, and a new class of tenant is showing up in significant numbers.

The industry behind demand

New Zealand’s screen sector contributes approximately $3.5 billion annually to GDP and supports around 24,000 jobs. It also benefits from a major structural tailwind: from 1 January 2026, the government reshaped the International Screen Production Rebate, lowering the minimum spend threshold for feature films from $15 million to $4 million. The change also reduced the bar for the 5% rebate uplift from $30 million to $20 million, and removed the cap on above-the-line costs. Budget 2025 backed the programme with $577 million in additional funding.

Mid-budget productions, such as streaming series, prestige drama, and ambitious independents that previously couldn’t access New Zealand’s incentive framework, now can.

Actor Cliff Curtis described the changes as “crucial,” warning that without them “we were looking at a very grim downcycle.” New Zealand is now better positioned to compete with Australia, the UK, and other jurisdictions fighting to attract international productions.

Since 2020, 42 international live-action productions have used the international rebate. Each of those productions brings an entourage: directors, producers, lead actors, heads of department, and studio executives on location visits. They need somewhere to stay — and they’re not staying in chain hotels.

Star power

The acquisition of Studio West by Āriki Group – the collective formed by Taika Waititi, Jason Momoa, and Cliff Curtis – is the most vivid recent signal of where the industry is heading. Momoa, who has described New Zealand as feeling like home “creatively, culturally, and spiritually,” is not a one-production visitor.

This matters for property, as a studio under committed, high-profile local ownership is a studio with a long pipeline. Productions are planned years ahead, and the talent and crew they bring require housing for weeks or months at a time, not a night or two.

Goodwins Property Management is already operating in this space. The company is currently assisting one major entertainment and media company with accommodation requirements in Auckland, illustrating exactly what premium short- and mid-term rental supply is needed for. As new production companies form and the rebate changes take effect, that demand will only broaden.

What production companies require

Understanding what screen industry tenants want helps clarify the market opportunity and why much of Auckland’s rental stock doesn’t serve it.

Lead actors and senior crew on international productions require properties that read as homes, not serviced apartments. They want character, privacy, proximity to facilities, and space to decompress after a physically demanding day on set. A Ponsonby villa with indoor-outdoor flow, a private garden, secure parking, and a functioning kitchen meets that brief. A new-build two-bedroom apartment in Albany does not.

The rental term is also different. Short-stay Airbnb lets, which account for 5,260 active Auckland listings and average $168 per night, according to stats published by Airbnb, are not what production companies are booking. They want fixed-term arrangements typically running four to twenty weeks, managed professionally, with reliable maintenance response and a single point of contact for any issues. That is a fundamentally different service to consumer short-stay hosting. It is also higher value.

A Herne Bay property achieving $3,250 per week on a 12-week arrangement with a production company generates $39,000 from a single tenancy, with no turnover costs, no nightly changeover, and a tenant who is professionally accountable for the property. Compare that to the standard long-term rental at $970 per week, returning $50,440 annually with all the associated vacancy risk.

A tightening market

The broader Auckland property market is turning. Building consents are at their lowest since 2018–19, meaning the flood of new supply that softened conditions through 2024 and early 2025 will not be replenished. The City Rail Link, opening later this year, should add further lift to connected suburbs. Net migration, while down from peak levels, remains positive and weighted toward Auckland.

Industry analysts expect demand to outpace supply by next year, with shorter vacancy times and rising rents to follow. For landlords holding quality properties in premium suburbs, that trajectory means pricing power will soon return. For those with properties suited to the screen industry – the right size, the right suburb, the right fit-out – it means access to a segment of demand that sits well above the median.

The Auckland that Waititi described needs somewhere to put all those people. The question for property investors is whether their assets are positioned to capture that.

Goodwins Property Management is Auckland’s preferred accommodation partner for media production companies, currently assisting major international studios with premium short- and mid-term rental requirements. If you own a quality Auckland property and want to understand how it could perform in this market, call us on 0800 GOODWINS.