This article is from the Australian Property Journal archive
2023 saw rents skyrocket across Sydney, Melbourne and Perth, while regional renters saw rates remain steady since mid-year.
According to the latest figures from PropTrack, the December quarter saw median advertise rents grow by 1.8% to $580 per week, reflecting a 12-month increase to 11.5% or $60 each week.
Capital cities rents were up 13.2% when compared to the same time a year ago hitting to $600 per week.
Despite the heavy impact on renters, this was still the slowest pace of annual growth since early 2022.
“Rental markets are extremely challenging for renters, with rents continuing to grow very quickly across much of the country amid strong demand and very low vacancy rates,” said Angus Moore, economist at PropTrack.
“Rents are growing at double-digit rates in many capitals, with Sydney, Melbourne and especially Perth renters facing very strong growth.”
Over the last year unit rents by a whopping 20% in Perth, followed by 18.3% in Melbourne, 16.7% in Sydney, 12.5% in Adelaide, 9.1% in Brisbane and 1.7% in Darwin.
At the same time, unit rents remained flat in the ACT over the last 12 months, while Hobart recorded a decline of 4.8%.
The year saw house rents surge by 14.6% in Melbourne, 13.6% in Sydney, 12.7% in Perth, 12.0% in Adelaide, 7.8% in Brisbane and 1.5% in Darwin.
For houses Hobart rents remained unchanged and the ACT saw a decline in median rents of 2.2%.
“There are some signs that rent growth may be slowing, and some relief on the horizon. While rents are still growing very quickly, rent growth in 2023 was slower across the combined capital cities compared to 2022,” added Moore.
Regional rental markets on the other hand have seen more restrained growth over the year, with rents were flat across regional areas in the December quarter and sitting steady at $500 per week since June.
“As we head into what is typically the busiest time of year for rental markets in January, renters will, unfortunately, continue to face growing rents. There may be some relief on the horizon, with signs that growth is starting to ease,” concluded Moore.
