‘Completely priced out’: Affordable rentals vanishing across Australia – realestate.com.au

New PropTrack data shows rental listings under $400 per week are becoming like gold dust.

When Leanne Gunsberger Theisz moved from regional Victoria to Cairns to be close to her ageing father, she didn’t expect to be homeless.

Now, searching for an affordable rental has taken over her life.

“There are no rentals. I live in a pub room. There’s literally nothing else,” she told realestate.com.au.

The 43-year-old is looking for a one-bedroom home for herself and her partner, but said prices have jumped from around $350 per week a year ago to around $450, which she said “is completely beyond my means” as a low-income earner.

“I don’t want a major thing. I just want something that’s not going to blow down in a cyclone. And I’d love to get a dog. But I’m completely priced out.”

Leanne’s short-term pub accommodation is stuffed with people in a similar situation.

“We’ve got five-star cleaning ladies from the fancy hotels. We’ve got a couple of tradies. We’ve got an aged carer. These are all working people,” she said.

Only 5.9% of capital city property rentals now cost less than $400 a week according to PropTrack. Picture: Getty

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With surging rents across Australia, the number of affordable rentals is dwindling rapidly, with new PropTrack data showing the share of capital city rentals under $400 has dropped by half in a single year.

The PropTrack Market Insight Report, released on Wednesday, found the national share of rental properties listed on realestate.com.au for less than $400 per week has plummeted to a record low of just 10.4%, down from 15.5% in April 2023 and 43.2% in March 2020.

In the capital cities, just 5.9% of listings are now below $400 per week, down from 10.6% in April 2023 and 31.7% in March 2020.

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Canberra has the smallest share of properties listed to rent under $400 at 2.1%, followed by Sydney (3.8%), Perth (5.6%), Melbourne (7.0%), Brisbane (7.8%), Adelaide (9.5%), Darwin (10.7%) and Hobart (10.9%).

At the start of the pandemic, one in five house rentals in Sydney cost less than $400 a week – that figure is now one in 50. In Melbourne, one in 25 house rentals now cost less than $400.

Regional Australia has also been hit, with only 16.3% of houses in regional markets now advertised for under $400 a week, down from 21.5% in April 2023 and 56.2% in March 2020.

Regional WA (14.8%) had the smallest portion of properties listed to rent below $400 of the regions, followed by regional Queensland (15.8%) and regional NSW (21.5%).

PropTrack senior economist Eleanor Creagh said given rental prices have continued to increase and vacancies remain close to record lows, it’s no surprise that the share of rentals priced under $400 a week is continuing to fall.

“People are likely to be spending an increasing share of their income on rent, so a lot more will be facing financial stress. It’s really challenging.”

Agent John Maugeri at Ray White Parramatta Oatlands Northmead in western Sydney said the median weekly rent in his area was now around $500-plus.

“In many areas, that’s just a starting point. For an older-style, two-bedroom or three-bedroom unit, the rent’s now sitting at $570 or $580 a week,” he said.

“I’ve been here for over 26 years, and I can certainly say it’s become horrendous when it comes to what people can afford. A lot of people are getting pushed further west to find housing.”

Just 2.1% of houses in Sydney are renting for less than $400 per week, the data shows. Picture: Getty

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Perth agent Jasmyn Wright at Realestate88 said finding something under $400 in the capital city would be “a real struggle”, with demand at staggering highs.

Western Australia’s population grew 3.3% in the year to September 2023, the largest increase of any state or territory, according to the ABS.

“We just don’t have the housing here, so anything that is available, you’re getting 50 or 60 people turning up at the open home,” she said. “A one-bedroom would ordinarily lease for about $450, maybe $500. Now we’re getting upwards to $850 a week.”

A one-bedroom apartment in Perth now starts at $650 or $700 per week, Ms Wright added.

The share of Perth rentals below $400 has plummeted in recent years. Picture: Getty Images

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Ms Creagh said unfortunately for renters, there isn’t significant imminent relief.

Strong population growth and a shift in living with fewer people since the pandemic was keeping demand high, while supply of new builds remained constrained, she said.

“We’re probably going to see continued upward pressure on rents.”

But there is a slither of good news: the pace at which rental prices are increasing is starting to ease.

“While rental prices are still likely to increase, we’re unlikely to see rental price growth continuing at the pace it has been over the past two years,” she said.

“We’ve also seen vacancies ease slightly over the past couple of months,” she said. “That’s a small silver lining.”