Rental and real estate business valuation benchmarks for New Zealand
Valuation evidence for New Zealand rental, hiring and real estate services businesses, drawn from 328 verified equipment hire, vehicle rental and real estate agency sales recorded by licensed NZ business brokers. Indexed price trends, median time-to-sell, recent comparables and a regional heatmap, covering ANZSIC Division L nationwide.
The state of the NZ rental and real estate business sales market
Rental, Hiring and Real Estate Services (ANZSIC Division L) brings together equipment and goods hire, passenger vehicle rental, real estate agencies and leasing businesses. Bizstats has recorded 328 sales in the category. Auckland accounts for roughly 49% of transactions.
The category's defining feature is a flat long-run price trend. After a peak of 183, the indexed median sale price has settled at 101 by 2025, a cumulative move of just 1%. Almost alone among Bizstats industries, rental and real estate sale prices have ended the period close to where they began.
The SDE multiple index, by contrast, sits at 116, modestly above its baseline, and time-to-sell has shortened sharply, from 6 months in 2010 to 3 months by 2025. These are asset-backed or recurring-fee businesses, hire fleets, rent rolls, managed-property books, and a clear, transferable income base helps them sell quickly when well presented.
Sale price and SDE multiple figures are indexed to 2010 = 100. The +% values show cumulative change since the 2010 baseline. The full dollar medians, by sub-category, are available in a Bizstats valuation report.
Indexed median rental and real estate sale price
Median sale price for New Zealand rental and real estate business transactions, indexed to 2010 = 100. The underlying dollar medians by sub-category are published in the Bizstats valuation report.
Commentary: The rental and real estate price index has been a round trip: up to 183 at its strongest, down to 63 at its weakest, and back to 101 by 2025, a cumulative move of only 1%. Among Bizstats industries this is the rare case of headline sale prices ending the period close to where they started.
Indexed median rental and real estate SDE multiple
Median SDE (Seller's Discretionary Earnings) multiple paid for New Zealand rental and real estate businesses, indexed to 2010 = 100. The price index tracks what businesses sell for; the SDE multiple index tracks what buyers are paying per dollar of earnings. Actual multiples by sub-category are published in a Bizstats valuation report.
Commentary: The SDE multiple index has ranged across an 89-135 band and sits at 116 by 2025, modestly above the 2010 baseline. With flat headline prices, the steady multiple suggests buyers have continued to value the recurring-fee and asset-backed income these businesses generate.
What buyers pay for in a rental and real estate business sale
The average split of the sale price into tangible assets, stock and intangibles (brand, customer base and other non-physical value) for NZ rental and real estate business transactions, year by year. Each bar is a 100% view: it shows the mix, not the dollar value.
- Tangibles
- Stock
- Intangibles
| Year | Tangibles | Stock | Intangibles |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 27% | 0% | 73% |
| 2011 | 35% | 0% | 65% |
| 2012 | 27% | 2% | 71% |
| 2013 | 37% | 2% | 61% |
| 2014 | 47% | 1% | 52% |
| 2015 | 39% | 0% | 61% |
| 2016 | 49% | 0% | 51% |
| 2017 | 26% | 0% | 74% |
| 2018 | 14% | 0% | 86% |
| 2019 | 26% | 0% | 74% |
| 2020 | 41% | 0% | 59% |
| 2021 | 30% | 0% | 70% |
| 2023 | 68% | 0% | 32% |
| 2024 | 58% | 0% | 42% |
| 2025 | 47% | 0% | 53% |
Commentary: Rental and hire businesses are unusual: the hire fleet itself is a large tangible asset, so this sector skews more tangible than most service categories. By 2025 the median sale split roughly 47% tangible assets, 0% stock and 53% intangibles. The intangible share has moved from 73% in 2010 to 53% (-20 points), with rent rolls, management contracts and brand carrying a growing share.
Median time-to-sell for NZ rental and real estate businesses
Median months from listing to unconditional sale for NZ rental and real estate business transactions. A leading indicator of buyer demand. Tighter time-to-sell signals stronger competition for available stock.
Commentary: Time-to-sell has fallen substantially, from 6 months in 2010 (with a high of 9 months in 2011) to 3 months by 2025. A clear, transferable income base, hire fleets, rent rolls and managed-property books, makes these businesses quicker for buyers to assess and finance.
Recent rental and real estate business sales in NZ
A sample of recent anonymised rental and real estate transactions. Each row shows ANZSIC sub-category, region, revenue, SDE and sale month, with revenue and SDE rounded to the nearest $100,000. Full anonymised comparables with exact sale prices and SDE multiples are in a Bizstats valuation report.
| ANZSIC | Region | Revenue | SDE | SDE X | Sold |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Real Estate Services | Northland | $100,000 | $100,000 | ••• | Apr 2026 |
| Other Goods and Equipment Rental and Hiring n.e.c. | Bay of Plenty | $1,000,000 | $300,000 | ••• | Mar 2026 |
| Real Estate Services | Auckland | $300,000 | $300,000 | ••• | Dec 2025 |
| Other Goods and Equipment Rental and Hiring n.e.c. | Auckland | $500,000 | $100,000 | ••• | Dec 2025 |
| Real Estate Services | Canterbury | $500,000 | $200,000 | ••• | Nov 2025 |
| Real Estate Services | Canterbury | $300,000 | $200,000 | ••• | Oct 2025 |
| Other Goods and Equipment Rental and Hiring n.e.c. | Waikato | $100,000 | $100,000 | ••• | Aug 2025 |
| Other Goods and Equipment Rental and Hiring n.e.c. | Bay of Plenty | $700,000 | $300,000 | ••• | Jul 2025 |
| Passenger Car Rental and Hiring | Auckland | $800,000 | $400,000 | ••• | Jul 2025 |
| Non-Financial Intangible Assets (Except Copyrights) Leasing | Waikato | $1,000,000 | $300,000 | ••• | Jul 2025 |
See what they actually sold for. A Bizstats valuation report unlocks exact sale prices, SDE multiples and time-to-sell for rental and real estate businesses by ANZSIC sub-category.
Create a Bizstats report →Sample drawn from 328 verified rental and real estate transactions, updated as new sales are recorded by our network of licensed NZ business brokers.
Rental and real estate business sales by NZ region
Rental and real estate transaction activity and median time-to-sell mapped across New Zealand's 16 regions. Auckland leads with 160 recorded sales. Several regions fall below the reporting threshold for time-to-sell. Switch the metric to compare regions, and click any region for its benchmarks.
| Region | Transactions | Median time-to-sell (months) |
|---|---|---|
| Northland | 4 | Insufficient sample |
| Auckland | 160 | 4 |
| Waikato | 21 | 6 |
| Bay of Plenty | 31 | 5 |
| Gisborne | 3 | Insufficient sample |
| Taranaki | 9 | Insufficient sample |
| Manawatu | 3 | Insufficient sample |
| Hawke's Bay | 2 | Insufficient sample |
| Wellington | 20 | 5.5 |
| Tasman | 2 | Insufficient sample |
| Nelson | 10 | Insufficient sample |
| Marlborough | 2 | Insufficient sample |
| West Coast | 0 | Insufficient sample |
| Canterbury | 46 | 3 |
| Otago | 15 | 5 |
| Southland | 0 | Insufficient sample |
Put these rental and real estate benchmarks to work
Apply Bizstats rental and real estate benchmarks to a specific business: your own, a target acquisition or a comparable you're researching. Three free tools, no signup, real insights.
Work out Seller's Discretionary Earnings for a rental, hire or real estate business, step by step.
Calculate SDEStart hereApply industry multiples to your SDE and get a market value estimate in seconds.
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Calculate ROIRental and real estate business valuation FAQ
ANZSIC Division L covers equipment and goods hire, passenger vehicle rental, real estate agencies and leasing businesses. Bizstats has recorded 328 sales across the category.
Barely. Indexed to 2010 = 100, the median sale price reached 101 by 2025, a cumulative move of just 1%. The index rose to 183 at its peak before settling back, making this one of the few Bizstats categories where headline prices ended the period close to where they began.
These are asset-backed or recurring-fee businesses, hire fleets, rent rolls and managed-property books, and the SDE multiple reflects how secure and transferable that income is. The Bizstats index sits modestly above its 2010 baseline. Exact multiples by sub-category are in a Bizstats valuation report.
Median time-to-sell has fallen sharply, from 6 months in 2010 to 3 months by 2025. A clear, transferable income base makes these businesses relatively quick for buyers to assess and finance.
The dataset is updated monthly as new transactions flow in from our network of licensed New Zealand business brokers. Recorded coverage reaches back well over a decade, and the indexed trends on this page are benchmarked from 2010.
About this page
The benchmark figures, charts and recent comparables above are drawn from 328 verified rental and real estate business sales recorded by licensed NZ business brokers. The written analysis is generated from that data and reviewed by the Bizstats team, and is refreshed as new sales are recorded. These are indicative market benchmarks, not a formal valuation. See our Terms of Use.
Benchmarks last updated .
Learn more about business valuation
Guides that explain the metrics behind these rental and real estate benchmarks: SDE, earnings multiples, the ANZSIC classification and how market-based valuation works.
Understanding the Role of SDE in Business Valuation
One of the most widely used methods for business valuation is the capitalisation of earnings. Learn why Seller's Discretionary Earnings (SDE) is crucial for SME valuation.
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Market Based Valuation 101
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Value Modifiers in Business Valuation
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Understanding ANZSIC
ANZSIC codes classify business data, simplifying your search for accurate comparables on Bizstats.
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Thinking about selling your business? Remember that timing is everything! At Bizstats, we prefer a data-driven approach to business decisions.