Rental affordability in Queensland has hit a record low, with less than one-third of rentals within reach for the typical household — the smallest share in nearly 20 years.
Families have been shut out of the rental market as rent prices far outpaced wage growth, making leasing a home “essentially impossible” for low-income earners, according to REA Group’s latest Rental Affordability Index.
The report, released today, found a Queensland household earning the median income of $113,000 could afford to rent just 28 per cent of properties advertised on realestate.com.au between July and December 2024.
PropTrack economist Angus Moore
PropTrack economist Angus Moore said this marked a further decline from the 35 per cent share recorded in 2023-24, and put the Sunshine State below the national index.
A household earning the Australian median income of about $116,000 could access 36 per cent of advertised properties.
Mr Moore said the worsening affordability crisis was driven by rents increasing much faster than incomes since the onset of the pandemic.
“Australian renters are facing the toughest conditions in at least 18 years, when REA records began in 2008,” Mr Moore said.
“The current alarming state of rental affordability is a substantial deterioration from conditions before and during the pandemic,” Mr Moore said.
A two-bedroom apartment at 3/33 Sargent St, New Farm is renting at $700 a week
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While Perth in WA recorded the strongest rent growth, up 67 per cent since 2020, Brisbane and regional Qld also notched huge spikes, with rents increased 50 and 53 per cent respectively – about $200 a week.
Incomes, meanwhile, increased 19 per cent over the same period.
Popular city and coastal areas have seen even greater hikes. A one-bedroom apartment in inner-city New Farm, for example, was just leased at $650 a week after attracting 17 tenant applications — it was last listed to rent at $375.
A two-bedroom, one-bathroom house at 76 Norfolk St, Coorparoo renting at $575 a week
Odyssey Property Concierge principal Kieran Kannan said the unit was a “rare find” in a sought-after location, and had undergone a recent renovation.
“New Farm continues to be a high-demand suburb due to the incredible sense of community we have here,” Mr Kannan said.
“Post-Covid, we saw a real demand for share houses but over the past year we have seen the opposite.
“This has put a lot of pressure on one and two-bedroom units, and has driven those particular prices up.”
5/64 Mark St, New Farm was just rented at $650 a week
On the Gold Coast, a luxury acreage estate with two dwellings at Tallebudgera Valley was rented at $4,200 a week after just 10 days on the market.
Harcourts Property Hub business development manager Jessica Melling said she was overwhelmed with interest after connecting with relocation agents and film industry professionals.
“We would usually expect a property of that calibre to take between 12 and 16 weeks to rent, due to the far smaller pool of tenants seeking to rent at that price point, but I had so many inquiries,” Ms Melling said.
But the strongest demand remained for more affordable properties, with a four-bedroom duplex at Varsity Lakes rented at $1000 a week after 8 days on market. It was last listed at $540.
This duplex at 1/7 Mapleton Cct, Varsity Lakes attracted more than 60 inquiries in two days and was leased at $1000 a week
“All the owners did was tidy up the gardens and put a new gate on the front and we received over 60 inquries in two days,” Ms Melling said.
“Anything $1000 a week and under is the sweet spot now, which is absolutely wild.”
Regional Queensland recorded the largest annual increase (8.6 per cent) in median advertised rents over the year to December 2024, while rents in Brisbane grew 5 per cent to sit at $630 per week.
“Today’s challenging rental affordability comes after a period of relatively favourable conditions over the back half of the 2010s as rent growth slowed,” Mr Moore said.
“Between the end of 2014 and the end of 2020, median advertised rents in Brisbane grew at an average rate of just 1 per cent per year.”
A four-bedroom, two-bathroom house at 11A Station Ave, Northgate renting at $1,000 a week
Nationwide, typical-income households spending 25 per cent of their income could afford 36 per cent of rentals.
That dipped to just 2 per cent of all rentals for households at the 30th percentile of income earning roughly $70,000.
Households earning less than $64,000 per year – which represents around 30 per cent of renter households – would need to spend 40 per cent of their pre-tax income to afford rent, making leasing extremely challenging.
“For lower-income households, renting is essentially impossible. This highlights just how crucial Commonwealth Rent Assistance and community housing is for lower-income Australian households,” Mr Moore said.
A luxury acreage estate in Tallebudgera Valley rented at $4,200 a week
More than half of renter households (58 per cent) earned less than the median income, while renters were conversely underrepresented among high income households.
Of the top 10 per cent highest-income households, just 16.5 per cent were renters.
The report also found younger households were hard hit, with just 19 per cent of rentals affordable for householders aged 15 to 24 earning the median income.
But Mr Moore said rental market conditions were easing, despite record-low affordability.
“Rental availability, while still limited, is starting to increase and the pace of rent growth is slowing,” Mr Moore said.
“While rents are still likely to grow this year, we expect the pace of growth will continue to moderate.”
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