Kiwi tenants have less to cheer about this Christmas as New Zealand rents hit a record high in November.

Increasing for the first time in four months, the country's median weekly rent jumped to $445, according Trade Me's Property Rental Index.

Despite a generally subdued 2016, the November increase adds to a 27.1 per cent increase in New Zealand weekly rents over the last five years.

This has led prices to rise from $350 per week to $445 per week and add close to $5000 to the annual cost of renting a typical property.

Trade Me Property head Nigel Jeffries said he expected rents to climb even higher in the new year.

"Rents almost always increase in January as rental stock hits the market and landlords seize the chance to reassess the value of their rental property," he said.

November's record high came on the back of a 9.5 per cent increase in Wellington rents over the past year, which added $2000 to a typical annual rental cost and took the latest median rent to $433 per week.

After months of stagnation, Auckland's median weekly rental climbed to $520 per week in November, the first time it had been that high since April.

Mr Jefferies said there were signs Auckland rents could to continue to rise and soon hit a new record high.

Elsewhere around the country, rents increased everywhere except Gisborne and Canterbury, which were down 14.3 per cent and 4.2 per cent respectively.

Bay of Plenty rents proved a highlight for landlords as they climbed 10.5 per cent to $429 per week.