When the weekly price of a rental Delvean Steadman had been living in for over a decade went up four times in two years, “it felt like the rug was pulled out” from under her.
Nationally, the median cost of rent is now sitting at $627 – a figure that’s of little surprise to those who have been priced out of the market.
In Brisbane, the median price for a rental is steeper at $649 per week, and across the rest of Queensland, the price is sitting at $615.
“Why don’t we matter?” the 66-year-old asked.
Across greater Queensland, the median income for people over the age of 65 is just $43,000, meaning they would need to spend a whopping 73 per cent of their income on rent.
For those aged 24 and under, the outlook isn’t any better.
“A lot of the budget allocated for younger Australians is lucky to get them a room in a [share house], let alone a rental dwelling by itself,” said CoreLogic’s head of research, Eliza Owen.
Disclaimer: Data from CoreLogic uses an indexed measure of personal income for a single income earner. Income is based on ABS data and has been adjusted by growth in the national Wage Price Index (national) from June 21 to Dec 23 (+9.38%). Rent values are based on the CoreLogic median rent value for each city, across all dwellings.
Older Australians competing in ‘very expensive rental market’
Unable to cover the increasing cost of her Rockhampton rental, Ms Steadman was forced to couch surf for months or face homelessness, while she waited on the social housing list.
With the number of elderly tenants competing for a home in a volatile rental market only increasing, she’s far from alone.
Housing for the Aged Action Group executive officer Fiona York says there’s been a 71 per cent increase in the number of older renters between 2011 and 2021.
“All of a sudden, they’re competing in a very competitive, very expensive rental market,” she said.
“Fundamentally, the private rental market is an insecure place for older people, and it’s not appropriate for them to age there.”
In November of last year, Ms Steadman landed herself affordable community housing, dubbed the Shelter Collective.
It is a community initiative in Rockhampton, providing units to older women facing homelessness at a steady, affordable price.
“It’s amazing to just wake up and think I’m safe, I’m secure, I don’t have to think about where I go,” she said.
Young and old facing affordability pinch
Those aged 24 and under who earn the median national annual income for their age group – about $30,000 – should be spending about $175 per week on a rental, according to CoreLogic.
University students claim any of their peers who think they could get a room in a rental for that price must be “dreaming”.
Susie works in a full-time role, with a casual job on the side, all while studying part-time.
She earns more than the median income for her age group, so her budget — when based on the 30 per cent rule that categorises rental stress — is higher.
But she’s still spending $333 per week on her room in a rental house in the Brisbane suburb of West End.
She’s been told she’s one of the “lucky ones.”
“Whenever I tell anybody who is renting — or who has rented, or just knows what’s happening in the world — and I say ‘this is our place, this is what we’re paying’, a lot of the reaction is ‘oh my god, that is such a great deal’,” she said.
“When I was looking out into the market, there was none that fit my budget, so I knew I had to suck it up and change some areas of my life.”
Susie made sacrifices to afford her lifestyle – like not owning a car, doing free social activities, and making her own meals, rather than eating out.
But she laments she knew what she was getting into when she moved out – something she no longer sees as a “rite of passage”.
“It’s now a privilege,” she said. “And I am privileged to do that.”
But the prospect of a rent price hike when there’s little fat in the budget is daunting.
“If they hike the rent and I have the same salary, I won’t be able to afford it,” she said.
The great retreat
CoreLogic data shows rental affordability isn’t an issue isolated to just the youngest and oldest Australians.
Nationally, singles earning the median income for any age group would still be spending at least 40 per cent of their weekly income on a rental.
“So even for the wealthiest age cohort, rents aren’t really affordable there either, though they are more manageable,” Ms Owen said.
Although the data is nuanced – cheaper rentals are available depending on where you live, and some people may be earning well above the median figure for their age group – it shines a light on the rental affordability problem across the country.
Some have opted to leave the rat race of the city, and head to the country where rentals are a lot more affordable but far less available.
Dan Horrocks pays just $270 per week for a three-bedroom home in Charleville, in outback Queensland.
“In Brisbane, there’d be no chance to afford a place — even an apartment would be a bit of a stretch,” he said.
The money he’s saving in rent is allowing him to save up for an overseas holiday at the end of the year, and he’s been saving time and money on his commute to work, which now takes a grand total of three minutes each way.
But living rurally comes with its downside – he’s far from family and friends, and hours from the nearest cinema or beach.
“With all my closest friends being back at the coast, sometimes I do miss them,” Mr Horrocks said.
(ABC News: Peter Quattrocelli)
The 23-year-old thought himself lucky to have found a rental on the private market, with properties advertised “once in a blue moon” in Charleville, according to local real estate agent Jesse Minnis.
“Currently there are none available,” Mr Minnis said.
“I don’t know if there would be anything coming up in the current market.”
Without a significant supply of smaller properties in town, singles are left to tenant homes that are surplus to their needs.
“It’s certainly more than I need,” Mr Horrocks said.
“I feel a bit selfish, but that’s all that was available. If there was a greater apartment stock in town, or one of the government houses were available, I’d use that.”