Rents in the city had remained fairly static in the past year, but renters now expected better living conditions, the agents saidThe New Zealand Residential Rental Review (NZRRR) 2013 shows rents in several Dunedin areas decreased in the 12 months to May this year.
Although the decrease was slight, business manager at Nidd Realty property management Charlotte Janssen said good affordable housing was getting harder to find.
''The good flats are often taken. They are out there but I think people's standards of living are changing.''
In particular, Ms Janssen had noticed a trend of a new type of student paying the extra dollar to live in a warm, dry and healthy home.
Many based themselves outside the student zones and in the more expensive areas of St Clair, Maori Hill and Roslyn.
''I think students are starting to realise and expect more. You are likely to find students living in St Clair now. You wouldn't have five years ago.''
The trend was driven by more publicity given to the importance of living in a ''healthy home'', she said.
However, there were still two types of student flatting markets.
At one end of the spectrum were the students who liked to ''live like a king'', but there were still those who enrolled to study in the city to experience that ''scarfie lifestyle'', which sometimes meant living in the grungy, inadequately heated, beaten-down student flats.
''There are still going to be those who want to live on Castle St and those who will pay more money to live in the worst house of Castle St.''
Shockingly, some students paid $150 to live in those flats, she said.
Because ''higher-end flatting'' was popular with students, young professionals in Dunedin often struggled to find a warm home at an affordable price and good location.
Many flats in Dunedin were not the type a young professional or young couple were looking for.
Mosgiel, Musselburgh, Andersons Bay, Maori Hill, Roslyn and St Clair were becoming more popular among flat-hunters.
The NZRRR shows Dunedin rental prices are well below the national average and are cheaper than Christchurch, Auckland and Queenstown.
Rents in Palmerston North, also known for its student culture, average about $20 less than Dunedin.
Lower student numbers had not meant a rent decrease, Ms Janssen said.
Paul Reuben, the managing director of private property management company Student Accommodation Ltd, agreed tenant expectations had increased in recent years.
He said properties without adequate heating and insulation were left vacant in the competitive student market.
''At the very least, a heat pump should be provided at all properties.''
International students from China and the Middle East-Arab states, had higher expectations, wanting modern, warm and dry properties, he said.
A room in a four-bedroom flat that ticked all the boxes in Dunedin would now average $120-$125 a week.
''In the end, as with most things, a property is worth as much as prospective tenants are willing to pay for it. Some properties that have established names can attract what most people would consider very high rents for the quality of property.''
