Australia’s toughest metro rental market revealed

Demand-supply imbalance in this region leads to a 21% annual rental growth

Australia’s toughest metro rental market revealed

Perth’s North East has been identified as the most challenging rental market among Australia’s capital cities, recent data from realestate.com.au has shown.

The area, which includes suburbs like Bayswater, Glen Forest, and Stoneville, recorded an average of 60 enquiries per listing in March 2024 – the highest in the country, while vacancy rate is currently at a low of 0.69%, highlighting a significant shortage of rental properties.

Over the past year, rental prices in this region have surged by 21%, driven by the demand-supply imbalance.

Other areas in Perth, including the South East, North West, and South West, face similar issues with high enquiry rates and low vacancy rates, leading to increasing rental costs.

Read more: Perth housing supply ‘in dire straits’

In Adelaide’s North, the situation is also dire, with the region receiving an average of 47 enquiries per listing in March, exacerbating the housing shortage.

Meanwhile, Canberra has seen considerably less demand, with only 12 enquiries per listing in March. Similarly, areas such as Hobart and affluent parts of Sydney, including the Northern Beaches and Baulkham Hills and Hawkesbury, report lower enquiry rates, higher vacancy rates, and moderate rental price growth.

PropTrack noted that the regions facing the most acute rental crisis tend to be situated further from city centres, indicating that the crisis is extending beyond inner-city areas to outer regions of the capital cities. 

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