Rents surge by double-digits in 44 per cent of Australian suburbs because of immigration
Rents have risen by double digits in 44 per cent of Australian suburbs due to strong immigration, with inner-city apartment renters worst affected.
In the year to May, home and unit rents rose at least 10 percent in 1,700 of the 3,812 markets CoreLogic analyzed.
But in Sydney’s boroughs, rents have risen by more than 30 per cent as an influx of international students drove up prices in Australia’s most expensive rental market.
Sydney’s inner city market has seen the biggest increase in rents, with the Treasury Department expecting a record 400,000 migrants to move to Australia by the end of this financial year, followed by 315,000 in 2023-24.
The city was home to nine of Australia’s top 10 suburbs for rent increases, with Melbourne listed by one.
Sydney was a city of extremes with rents rising high near the city but falling in scenic waterfront areas, including on the Central Coast, an hour’s drive north.
But in Sydney’s boroughs, rents have risen by more than 30 per cent as an influx of international students drove up prices in Australia’s most expensive rental market. Haymarket, next to Chinatown, saw average rents rise 34.5 percent to $1,115 a week (pictured George Street)
Parts of Brisbane recorded rent increases of more than 20 per cent, with double digits in Perth and Adelaide.
CoreLogic economist Kaytlin Ezzy said tenants living in units are facing the biggest cost increases, with Sydney having a vacancy rate of just 1.3 percent, while Melbourne and Brisbane are even tighter at 0.8 percent.
“If you break that figure down further by property type, we see that the unit sector is under the greatest pressure, with rents rising faster than houses because of their relative affordability,” she said.
Haymarket, next to Chinatown, saw average rents increase by 34.5 to $1,115 per week.
Wolli Creek rents rose 31.5 percent to $822, while Zetland’s rents rose 30.5 percent to $988.
Sydney’s heartland saw rents rise 29.2 percent to $1,042.
Melbourne’s central business district experienced a 28.4 percent increase, bringing rents to $664, ranking it fifth nationally.
Melbourne’s central business district saw a 28.4 percent increase, bringing rents to $664, placing it fifth nationally (pictured is Flinders Street Station lit up for King Charles III’s coronation last month)
Brisbane city center saw rents rise 24.2 percent to $723, while tenants in nearby Kangaroo Point, across the river, paid 21.9 percent more, bringing lease costs to $690
But Sydney continued to dominate the top 10 list, with Chippendale rents rising 28.3 percent to $864.
At Mascot, next to Sydney’s Kingsford Smith Airport, rents rose 28.1 percent to $988.
Rents in Waterloo rose 27.8 percent to $956.
Rosebery saw a 27.7 percent increase to $984, while Arncliffe rounded out the top 10 with a 27.3 percent increase, bringing weekly rents to $817.
Brisbane city center saw rents rise 24.2 percent to $723, while tenants in nearby Kangaroo Point, across the river, paid 21.9 percent more, bringing the lease cost to $690.
In Perth, Alexander Heights rents rose 18.3 percent to $608, while in Adelaide, Albert Park rents rose 17.6 percent to $555.
The other capitals were spared double-digit increases.
In Darwin, Nakara rents rose 9.7 percent to $689.
Rents in Hobart were more moderate by comparison, with Oakdowns tenants paying 5.5 per cent more, bringing costs to $572.
Canberra had the smallest increases, with rents in Barton near Parliament House rising just 2.8 percent to $620.
Sydney, the city with the largest rent increases, was also the city with the largest rent decreases. Rents at Bundeena, a ferry across Port Hacking from Cronulla in the Sutherland Shire, fell 6.8 percent to $823 a week
Across Australia, rents fell in 6.7 percent of suburbs.
The New South Wales Central Coast, an hour’s drive north of Sydney, was home to eight of the top 10 markets with the strongest rent declines, with tenants in Green Point paying 4.5 percent less or $753 a week over the year.
“Sydney had 38 markets where rents fell, most of them on the Central Coast,” the CoreLogic report said.
Sydney, the city with the largest rent increases, was also the city with the largest rent decreases.
Rents on Bundeena, a ferry across Port Hacking from Cronulla in the Sutherland Shire, fell 6.8 percent to $823 a week.
Another waterfront suburb was also cheaper for renters, with Roseville Chase renters near Middle Harbor paying 3.1 percent less for a weekly rent of $1,397.
Nationally, rents fell in 225 housing and 29 apartment markets, most of them in Canberra and regional areas.