Renters are paying more than ever to lease a property with just one capital city seeing weekly rents go backwards in the past 12 months – and even then, there’s a catch.
The latest Market Insight by realestate.com.au has revealed national rent prices reached a new record high in the December quarter, with renters now forking out an extra $1,560 on average compared to a year earlier.
Nationally, a typical rental property now costs $650 per week, an increase of 4.8% in 12 months.
Sydney remains the most expensive city for renters, with a median price of $760 per week.
Melbourne was the second-cheapest capital to rent in, behind only Hobart. Compared to Melbourne, renters in Sydney are forking out an extra $9,620 per year, on average.
Cost to rent a capital city property:
| Region | Median rent | QoQ change | YoY change |
| Sydney | $760 | 1.3% | 4.1% |
| Melbourne | $575 | 0.9% | 2.7% |
| Brisbane | $670 | 3.1% | 6.3% |
| Adelaide | $600 | 0.0% | 3.4% |
| Perth | $700 | 1.4% | 7.7% |
| Hobart | $573 | 4.2% | 9.1% |
| Darwin | $650 | 0.0% | 8.3% |
| ACT | $630 | 1.6% | 1.6% |
| Capital Cities | $650 | 0.0% | 1.6% |
| National | $650 | 1.6% | 4.8% |
While the pace of growth nationally has slowed compared to the previous year, realestate.com.au senior economist Anne Flaherty said costs remain a significant challenge for many, with the annual median rent sitting $11,960 higher compared to five years ago.
“The slower pace of growth is definitely good news for renters, and I think one of the contributing factors has been the rise in investor activity we've seen over the past 12 months,” Ms Flaherty said.
“From the perspective of a renter, more investors tend to add to the supply of rental properties, which can help to slow the rate of rent growth. The flip side, of course, is that when we see more investor activity, that increases overall market demand as well, which can contribute to higher home prices."
Cost to rent a capital city house:
| Region | Median rent | QoQ change | YoY change |
| Sydney | $800 | 0.6% | 3.2% |
| Melbourne | $575 | 0.9% | -0.9% |
| Brisbane | $690 | 2.2% | 6.2% |
| Adelaide | $630 | 1.6% | 5.0% |
| Perth | $720 | 2.9% | 6.7% |
| Hobart | $600 | 0.8% | 7.1% |
| Darwin | $720 | 0.0% | 5.9% |
| ACT | $720 | 2.9% | 2.9% |
| Capital Cities | $670 | 1.5% | 3.1% |
| National | $650 | 0.0% | 3.2% |
Cost to rent a capital city unit:
| Region | Median rent | QoQ change | YoY change |
| Sydney | $750 | 0.7% | 7.1% |
| Melbourne | $575 | 0.0% | 4.5% |
| Brisbane | $650 | 4.0% | 8.3% |
| Adelaide | $550 | 2.8% | 6.8% |
| Perth | $670 | 3.1% | 7.2% |
| Hobart | $510 | 2.0% | 5.2% |
| Darwin | $600 | 1.7% | 9.1% |
| ACT | $600 | 3.4% | 3.4% |
| Capital Cities | $650 | 0.0% | 4.8% |
| National | $640 | 1.6% | 6.7% |
She said the rate of population growth in Australia, while still in line with historic average levels, has slowed from the recent peak.
Rent growth is expected to continue moderating in 2026, she said, though vacancy rates remain low and population growth will fuel demand for more rentals.
Melbourne on track to become most affordable capital city
Melbourne ($575) and Hobart ($573) remain the two most affordable capitals in the country, though strong growth in the Tasmanian capital means it’s on track to overtake Melbourne.
Melbourne was the only market to see rents go backwards across any property type. For houses, rents fell 0.9% to a median $575 per week, though unit rents rose 4.5% over the year.
Melbourne was the only market to see rental price falls, with house rents falling 0.9% over the 12 months to the December quarter 2025. Picture: Getty
Ms Flaherty said there were nuances; house rents rose in Melbourne’s popular inner suburban suburbs over the past year, while declines were more common in outer areas with lots of older housing stock.
“If you look exclusively at houses, the areas where houses have seen strong rental growth in Melbourne are the inner areas,” she said.
“We actually saw 5% growth in house rents in the inner east, which is the most exclusive pocket of Melbourne, and then the outer east as well, 4.8% growth. That, again, is an appealing area."
The areas with the weakest rental growth were the city’s northeast, northwest and west, she said.
Regional Victoria saw stronger rates of rental growth than the capital city, a theme Ms Flaherty said was playing out across the country due to factors such as supply not keeping pace with demand.
“In the regional markets where we have been seeing positive net intrastate migration away from capital cities, such as Greater Melbourne into regional Victoria, that increases demand, but the rate at which new homes are being built, the rate of investor activity in the regions hasn't been as strong as in the capital itself,” she said.
“So I think that that's why we're still seeing the regional markets outperform.”
Cost to rent a regional property:
| Region | Median rent | QoQ change | YoY change |
| Rest of NSW | $600 | 1.7% | 5.3% |
| Rest of Vic | $490 | 2.1% | 6.5% |
| Rest of Qld | $670 | 1.5% | 6.3% |
| Rest Of SA | $430 | 2.4% | 7.5% |
| Rest of WA | $650 | 0.0% | 4.8% |
| Rest of Tas | $480 | 4.3% | 6.7% |
| Rest of NT | $560 | 7.7% | 9.8% |
| Regional Areas | $590 | 1.7% | 7.3% |
| National | $650 | 1.6% | 4.8% |
The report revealed rental growth in most regional areas outpaced their respective capital city counterparts over the quarter, with regional NT, (+9.8%), South Australia (+7.5%), and Tasmania (+6.7%) leading the gains.
Property manager and director of This Space Real Estate, Naaman Fraser, said wages weren’t keeping up with the pace of rental growth in Tasmania’s Launceston region.
“There's definitely a shortage of stock,” he told realestate.com.au. “It's not uncommon to see between 20 and 40 applications on most properties.
This three bedroom home in South Launceston is available to rent for $560 per week. Picture: realestate.com.au
“But I think the bigger issue is the affordability. There's too much of a gap between household incomes versus the rental prices.
“Let's say we see 40 applications on a rental property, which is fairly average for us, usually about 35 of them don't meet the affordability for the property.
“And then we're seeing multi-generational or share house situations more and more common.”
Cost to rent a regional house:
| Region | Median rent | QoQ change | YoY change |
| Rest of NSW | $630 | 2.4% | 5.0% |
| Rest of Vic | $500 | 0.0% | 4.2% |
| Rest of Qld | $680 | 0.7% | 4.6% |
| Rest Of SA | $450 | 2.3% | 7.1% |
| Rest of WA | $670 | 3.1% | 6.3% |
| Rest of Tas | $650 | 8.3% | 14.0% |
| Rest of NT | $490 | 3.2% | 8.9% |
| Regional Areas | $600 | 1.7% | 5.3% |
| National | $650 | 0.0% | 3.2% |
Cost to rent a regional unit:
| Region | Median rent | QoQ change | YoY change |
| Rest of NSW | $530 | 1.9% | 6.0% |
| Rest of Vic | $410 | 2.5% | 3.8% |
| Rest of Qld | $650 | 0.0% | 8.3% |
| Rest Of SA | $330 | 3.1% | 10.0% |
| Rest of WA | $635 | 5.8% | 5.8% |
| Rest of Tas | $420 | 2.4% | 2.4% |
| Rest of NT | $480 | 14.3% | 14.8% |
| Regional Areas | $550 | 0.0% | 10.0% |
| National | $640 | 1.6% | 6.7% |
Median asking rents in the Launceston and north east region of Tasmania have jumped by 11.1% in the past year.
The cities where rents have soared
Across the capital cities, Hobart recorded the strongest quarterly and annual rent price growth, up 4.2% and 9.1% respectively.
Darwin (+8.3%), Perth (+7.7%), Brisbane (+6.3%) and Sydney (+4.1%) rounded out the top five.
Property prices and rental prices in Darwin have risen sharply in the past 12 months. Picture: Getty
Property prices in the NT capital skyrocketed last year, driven by investors seeking cheap properties with high rental returns.
“Over the last 12 months the number of new loans to investors has more than doubled compared to the previous,” Ms Flaherty said.
“Investors aren’t the only buyers active in Darwin, with new loans to first-home buyers up 46% in the NT, comparing the September quarters of 2025 and 2024. This was the strongest growth in loans to first-home buyers seen over the past year.”
Local property and department manager at Real Estate Central Darwin, Jo Griffiths, told realestate.com.au the sharp increase in property sales had diminished the city’s already small rental market.
“Before they even entered the market, we were so heavily undersupplied,” Ms Griffiths said, noting Darwin’s large population of young, transient workers, who tend to rent over buy.
Renters face tough competition across the country, though the pace of rental price growth has eased compared to a year ago. Picture: Getty
“Darwin is still a smaller economy, so we are subject to property fluctuations with people moving in and out of town.
“Traditionally, the last quarter of the year is a little bit quieter,” she said, “by February it increases again and we see lots of teachers and doctors and all those sorts of trades and Defense personnel coming into town at this time of year, so those rent prices really jump quite a bit when those stock levels decrease.”
She said units were “starting to see their time in the sun” as buyers became priced out of the housing market.
Nationally, unit rent growth outpaced that of houses over the year, rising 6.7% compared to 3.2% for houses.
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