Australian renters face all-time high rents and record low vacancy rates after prices ump in March quarter

ABC NEWS (Australia)

Australians are facing all-time high rents and record low vacancy rates after a jump in prices in the March quarter. But housing experts say there is hope on the horizon, with conditions expected to turn around later this year.

Transcript

00:00 In a landlord's market, it's a tough time to be a renter.

00:06 I'm looking for a rent house for three people, my aunt and my sister to live with.

00:15 Agent Daniel Carozza says high demand and a lack of properties has driven prices up.

00:20 We have seen month to month the average rent for our properties increase.

00:25 And the latest data backs that up. Over the past year, nationally rents have risen by more than 9%

00:31 to a median price of $600 a week.

00:34 The biggest gains were in Perth, Melbourne and Sydney, followed by Adelaide, Brisbane and the regions.

00:39 Rental growth in the ACT was flat, while prices in Hobart fell.

00:43 We have seen rents continue to rise. Pretty much they've been rising since midway through 2020.

00:49 But there is some relief in sight. Experts believe a tipping point will be reached sometime this year.

00:54 Thanks to slowing population growth. While that doesn't necessarily mean rents will start to come down,

00:59 it does mean they're likely to slow down from the rapid rises we've seen over the past few years.

01:05 It is still a landlord's market and the vacancy rate is still very tight.

01:09 Researcher Michael Fotheringham says the private rental market isn't serving the needs of lower income households.

01:15 Our housing systems are in crisis. There's certainly a group now that know that they're priced out of the market.

01:21 But economist Cameron Murray says the rise in rents is on par with rising incomes and inflation.

01:26 The reason rents are rising so quickly right now is because they were abnormally low before COVID and during COVID.

01:34 So if we want to return to a historical norm in the market, we need rents to rise.

01:40 Unwelcome news for some still desperate to find a place to call home.

01:44 [BLANK_AUDIO]

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