PropTrack data shows Australia’s median rent hits new high as the rental market fractures, with landlords holding pricing power in some areas and losing it fast in others.
Australia’s median rent has hit a new high, but new data shows the market is fracturing.
Landlords in some areas still able to lift rents while others are being forced to compete harder to secure tenants.
The latest PropTrack Market Insight report shows the national median weekly rent rose 1.6 per cent over the December quarter to $650 a week, pushing annual growth to 4.8 per cent, or about $1560 extra a year for renters.
Across the capitals, the median also sat at $650 a week, while regional markets continued to outpace the cities, with rents rising 7.3 per cent year-on-year to $590.
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The figures reveal widening gaps between markets. Hobart recorded the strongest quarterly and annual rent growth among the capitals, followed by Darwin and Perth, while Sydney remained the most expensive city to rent at $760 a week, about $9620 a year more than Melbourne.
REA Group senior economist Anne Flaherty said population growth and limited new housing supply were continuing to drive rental demand nationally, but a handful of tight markets were skewing the headline numbers.
REA Group senior economist Anne Flaherty says population growth and limited housing supply keep rental demand high, but tight markets are skewing the national rent figure.
Hobart leads capital-city rent growth in the latest PropTrack Market Insight report, highlighting widening gaps between Australia’s rental markets. Picture Eddie Safarik
“Strong population growth remains the key driver, and new housing supply isn’t keeping up,” Ms Flaherty said.
“In places like Perth and Brisbane, vacancy rates are extremely low, which has translated into sharp rent increases and pushed the national average higher.”
Ms Flaherty said the data also highlighted a growing divide between houses and units, with unit rents rising faster over the past year as affordability pressures reshaped renter behaviour.
“Nationally, unit rents are up 6.7 per cent over the year compared with 3.2 per cent for houses,” she said.
“That reflects where demand is strongest, particularly in inner-city and inner-fringe locations where apartments are often the most affordable option.”
Investor adviser Madeleine Roberts warns landlords can lose pricing power quickly as vacancy rates rise, forcing tougher competition to secure tenants.
Unit rents rise faster than houses as affordability reshapes demand, with PropTrack showing stronger annual growth for apartments than detached homes.
M R Advocacy director and investor adviser Madeleine Roberts said the national figures masked sharply different conditions on the ground, particularly in markets with rising vacancy.
“When vacancy rates lift, landlords lose pricing power very quickly,” Ms Roberts said.
“In areas with large volumes of similar stock, especially outer-metro growth corridors dominated by house-and-land packages, landlords are having to compete harder on price just to get properties leased.”
Melbourne renters see slower growth than some capitals, but the market is splitting as investors compete differently across houses, units and outer suburbs. Picture: Jason Edwards
Ms Roberts said in those markets, investors who assumed rent increases were automatic were now being forced to reassess expectations.
“Where supply outstrips demand, landlords are often lowering asking rents or offering incentives to secure tenants,” Ms Roberts said.
Australian Community Housing chief executive Mark Degotardi said the figures underscored a long-running mismatch between what it cost to deliver new rental housing and what households could afford.
“We’re short of the right housing in the right places at the right price points,” Mr Degotardi said.
Australian Community Housing CEO Mark Degotardi says Australia is short of the right rental homes in the right places, with the affordability gap widening.
Capital city rents sit at a $650 weekly median in PropTrack’s latest report, with different conditions emerging across Sydney, Melbourne, Hobart, Perth and Brisbane.
“Units should be the affordable option, yet they’re now experiencing the sharpest pressure.”
Mr Degotardi said simply increasing overall housing supply would not automatically lead to lower rents.
“It matters what we build and where we build it,” he said.
“The gap between delivery costs and what renters can pay has never been wider, particularly in regional areas where rent growth is strong but development is hardest to make stack up.”
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