There are 10 suburbs in Australia that are desperate for rental housing.
The report highlights 10 regions across the country in need of more affordable rental stock in an era of perpetual rental crises.
Suburbtrends identified the selected suburbs based on a number of factors, including whether these suburbs had exceptionally low vacancy rates, where rents exceeded incomes below the state average, and possessed a very low pipeline of building approvals, suggesting that the problem is unlikely to subside anytime soon.
Australian rental markets were filtered out if they contained more than three rental properties, had vacancies below 1.5%, and had household income levels in the upper 50 percent of each state.
The ranking was based on median weekly rent expressed as a share of average weekly household income, a measure called ‘rental affordability.’
Queensland had the most suburbs listed (five), followed by NSW (three), while South Australia and Victoria had just one each.
One of the biggest issues facing Australian society as a whole is the rental crisis, according to Suburbtrends founder Kent Lardner. A significant number of suburban areas throughout Australia are experiencing a severe shortage of rental properties, with vacancy rates at historic lows and tenants struggling to find adequate housing.
According to him, well-off renters in upscale suburbs have greater access to housing choices, especially since many of them work remotely, since they belong to the knowledge worker demographic. However, renters living in lower-income households face dire conditions due to a lack of housing options and significant difficulties.
“The report sheds light on the suburbs hardest hit by the shortage of rental properties.”
We acknowledge that finding a solution to this crisis is complex, but urge the Australian federal government to work with state and territory governments to increase the supply of rental properties.
The following are the 10 Australian regions that are desperate for rental stock, according to Suburbtrends:
- Main Beach, Queensland (House):
In this region, the vacancy rate increased by 0.4% from January to January, resulting in 0.6 percent of houses available for rent. The average weekly rent has risen 33 percent in that time, resulting in renters being charged $1,200, or 71 percent of the average weekly household income.
- Tweed Heads South, NSW (House):
In this NSW-Queensland border town, vacancy rates dropped to 0.4% in January, while rents rose 10 percent to $680 in the 12 months to January. Approximately 70 percent of Tweed Heads South’s $976 median weekly household income comes from rent.
- Eastlakes, NSW (House):
Rents in this South Sydney suburb have increased by 18% to $825 over the last 12 months, while vacancy rates have dropped from 1.9 per cent last January to 0.3 per cent in the first week of 2023. As this airport’s neighbouring area has a median household income of $1,300, median rents equate to 63 percent of median income.
- Warrawong, NSW (House):
On the state’s South Coast, residents have seen vacancy rates drop to 0.8% in January this year, while rents have increased 13 percent from $450 to $510 in the past 12 months, meaning that the average homeowner, who earns $908 per week, spends 56 per cent of their income on rent.
- Pialba, Queensland (House):
Vacancy rates in this suburb in Central Queensland dropped from 0.6% to 0.2% during the year to January 2023, while rents rose from $420 to $500. Pialba households earn an average of $932 per week, with rent making up 54 percent of their income.
- Currumbin Waters, Queensland (House):
A vacancy rate of 0.8 per cent was recorded last month on the state’s Gold Coast, up from 0.3 per cent in January 2022. Rents have also grown 18 per cent during that time, with the average tenant in the region charged $850 for accommodation, which accounts for 52 per cent of the region’s median weekly income of $1,636.
- Victor Harbor, South Australia (House):
The first non-Queensland or NSW suburb to enter the list lays claim to a dire zero per cent vacancy rate, a figure which has remained since January 2022, while rents have risen slightly from $410 to $450. The average household within the region spends 51 per cent of their $882 median weekly income on rent.
- Capel Sound, Victoria (House):
Having begun 2022 with a zero per cent vacancy rate, this suburb at the tip of Melbourne’s Mornington Peninsula’s market rebounded slightly with 0.6 per cent of properties available for rent at the beginning of this year. Median rents of $450 mean the average household — with an income of $950 — will fork out just over half (51 per cent) of their income on rent.
- Bilinga, Queensland (House):
Vacancy rates have held steady (0.4 per cent) from January 2022 to last month, while median rents have slightly climbed from $620 to $720. On average, households in this Southern Queensland suburb earn $1,435 per week that sees rents take up 50 per cent of their income.
- Eli Waters, Queensland (House):
Located in the Sunshine State’s Hervey Bay region, Eli Waters’ vacancy rates have risen 0.7 per cent between January 2022 and January 2023 to 1 per cent. In that time, rents jumped 24 per cent to $1,038 meaning the average household spends exactly half their median weekly income on rent.