New data highlights the ongoing rental crisis across Australia, with the number of relatively cheap rental listings almost halving over the last year.
The latest PropTrack Market Insight Report shows properties listed on realestate.com.au for less than $400 per week fell to 17.6 per cent in February 2023 – the lowest it’s been since 2018.
Compare that to the start of the Covid pandemic in March 2020 when 42.5 per cent of properties listed for rent were under $400 per week.
It’s the lowest since 2018 in almost all capital cities, with Hobart and Darwin the exceptions, with only 14.6 per cent of rentals under $400 per week in all other capitals.
“Demand for rentals is far outstripping supply, pushing weekly rents higher and the vacancy rate lower,” PropTrack economic research director and report author Cameron Kusher said.
“As a result, there has been a significant reduction in rentals available for less than $400 per week since the onset of the pandemic.
“With demand for rentals intensifying, we see no reprieve for tenants in the coming months.
“The fall in the availability of more affordable rentals and the surging competition for rental stock is creating challenges for those on lower incomes or government support payments as they try to source increasingly scarce rental accommodation.”
The report also shows houses lead the charge, experiencing the greatest dip in more affordable rental listings.
The trend can also be seen in regional areas, although less pronounced: 25.9 per cent of regional rentals were below $400 per week in February 2023 compared with 37.8 per cent in February 2022 and 57.6 per cent in March 2020.
Here’s a state-by-state breakdown of the latest figures:
WESTERN AUSTRALIA
Rentals below $400 per week were at 15.4 per cent in Perth for February 2023 (6.8 per cent houses, 27 per cent units) compared with 32 per cent in February 2022 (21.8 per cent houses, 44.3 per cent units).
In the rest of WA, 21.2 per cent of rental properties in February were below $400 per week compared with 42.7 per cent in February 2022 for all dwellings.
Social media users have laid bare the extent of the rental crisis in Perth, with a recent viral TikTok video showing more than 100 people forming a lengthy queue to inspect a Bentley rental.
Real Estate Institute of Western Australia chief executive Cath Hart at the time predicted further tightening of Perth’s rental market as Chinese students were forced to return to in-classroom learning.
NSW
Rentals below $400 per week were at 7.8 per cent in Sydney for February 2023 (4.9 per cent houses, 9.7 per cent units) compared with 19.8 per cent in February 2022 (11.1 per cent houses, 23.7 per cent units).
In the rest of NSW, 21.9 per cent of rental properties in February were below $400 per week compared with 30.3 per cent in February 2022 for all dwellings.
Recent Business NSW data shows an individual renting within 5km of Sydney’s CBD would need to earn at least six figures to avoid housing stress, which is defined as spending at least 30 per cent of one’s income on housing.
The same figures show you would need to earn at least $115,000 per year to rent in Byron Bay.
NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet on Friday announced his government would commit to ending “no grounds” evictions in his state if returned to power at the upcoming state election, something Labor and the Greens have also promised.
It means renters on a rolling lease wouldn’t be able to be kicked out of their leased property without reasonable grounds to do so.
VICTORIA
Rentals below $400 per week were at 20 per cent in Melbourne for February 2023 (15.6 per cent houses, 23.7 per cent units) compared with 43.5 per cent in February 2022 (32.9 per cent houses, 43.5 per cent units).
In the rest of Victoria, 37.9 per cent of rental properties in February were below $400 per week compared with 51.5 per cent in February 2022 for all dwellings.
The Melbourne rental market has become tighter than Sydney’s, with data from Domain showing a 64 per cent drop in rental listings over the last year.
The same data shows Melbourne’s rental vacancy rate hit a record low of 0.8 per cent in February.
That’s down from a peak of 6 per cent in December 2020, just after the Victorian capital came out of some lengthy Covid lockdowns.
QUEENSLAND
Rentals below $400 per week were at 13 per cent in Brisbane for February 2023 (9.9 per cent houses, 18 per cent units) compared with 28.3 per cent in February 2022 (21 per cent houses, 35.4 per cent units).
In the rest of Queensland, 21.3 per cent of rental properties in February were below $400 per week compared with 35.4 per cent in February 2022 for all dwellings.
The Sunshine State is another area also feeling the crunch of rental vacancies also exceeding supply.
A concerning trend emerging among prospective renters appears to be agents encouraging “rent bidding” whereby those looking to lease offer to fork out more each week to secure a property.
Real Estate Institute of Queensland chief executive Antonia Mercorella recently told the ABC while rent bidding was a practice outlawed in Queensland, it was a legal grey area.
“The law doesn‘t prevent a tenant from offering more … where it gets tricky is where certain kinds of behaviour is encouraging rent bidding,” Ms Mercorella said.
The supply issue is also in the buyers’ market, with PropTrack’s Home Price Index for February showing the total number of properties listed for sale in Brisbane is down close to 30 per cent on previous five-year averages.
That means buyer demand for those properties available has been concentrated.
SOUTH AUSTRALIA
Rentals below $400 per week were at 18.3 per cent in Adelaide for February 2023 (9.9 per cent houses, 34.4 per cent units) compared with 37.8 per cent in February 2022 (26.5 per cent houses, 53.6 per cent units).
In the rest of SA, 70.2 per cent of rental properties in February were below $400 per week compared with 84 per cent in February 2022 for all dwellings.
Unlike Queensland, rent bidding isn’t outlawed in SA, but changes proposed by the state government there would ban it.
Consumer and Business Affairs Minister Andrea Michaels said in February: “The practice of rent bidding unfairly drives up prices and is contributing to the current rental crisis by making it more and more difficult for South Australians to find rental accommodation.”
TASMANIA
Rentals below $400 per week were at 12 per cent in Hobart for February 2023 (6.5 per cent houses, 21.7 per cent units) compared with 20.3 per cent in February 2022 (10.9 per cent houses, 38.4 per cent units).
In the rest of Tasmania, 34.1 per cent of rental properties in February were below $400 per week compared with 49.9 per cent in February 2022 for all dwellings.
In February, 12 organisations – including Anglicare and the Council on the Ageing – wrote to Tasmania Premier Jeremy Rockliff calling on his government to tax property owners letting their investments sit vacant.
TasWater data showed there were 2700 empty homes in the Hobart, Glenorchy, and Launceston local government areas in 2021.
NORTHERN TERRITORY
Rentals below $400 per week were at 8.8 per cent in Darwin for February 2023 (2.6 per cent houses, 13.4 per cent units) compared with 15.7 per cent in February 2022 (4.4 per cent houses, 22.5 per cent units).
In the rest of the NT, 26.9 per cent of rental properties in February were below $400 per week compared with 34.8 per cent in February 2022 for all dwellings.
“Darwin home prices increased 0.04 per cent in February, rising to a fresh peak,” Mr Kusher said.
“Home prices have increased 1.82 per cent over the past year and remain 28.7 per cent above pre-pandemic levels.”
ACT
Rentals below $400 per week were at 1.9 per cent in the ACT for February 2023 (0.9 per cent houses, 2.5 per cent units) compared with 6 per cent in February 2022 (2.4 per cent houses, 7.9 per cent units).
Due to its size, the ACT is not considered to have a regional area.
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