Mount Gambier’s rental market at crisis point as demand surges for real estate

People flocking to the South East in the midst of COVID-19 and others deciding to stay put has triggered a rental shortage in Mount Gambier.

A four bedroom home at 19 Wallace St in Mount Gambier is being advertised for $310 a week. Picture: realestate.com.au

From family homes to units, rental properties are scarce in Mount Gambier.

The city is experiencing a rental shortage a people flock to the region or choose to stay put in the midst of COVID-19.

Complete Real Estate leasing officer Jessie Little said the moment a property is listed online, the interest starts flowing in, often reaching an average of 30 to 40 applicants.

“The amount of people looking for rental properties is just beyond what I’ve seen before and people with great applications are missing out,” Ms Little said.

A two bedroom home at 58 Bertha St in Mount Gambier is currently being advertised for $265 per week but is not available until January 2021. Picture: realestate.com.au

“Four bedroom family homes are really, really popular and they’re very hard to come by. As soon as we have one of them, the amount of applications we get is insane.”

Ms Little said the pandemic had put extra pressure on the availability of rentals

“Mostly because of COVID this year we saw a lot of people staying put so we had less people moving out,” she said.

“We also found a lot of landlords who were either living interstate or living the city wanted to come home so they were moving back into their investment properties.”

Ms Little said demand had pushed prices up around $10 a week as people offer above the asking price and recommended giving the agent as much information as possible and starting the search early.

Jessie Little, leasing officer at Complete Real Estate in Mount Gambier. Picture: Complete Real Estate

Raja Gupta, wife Himani Arora and two-year-old son Devansh have been applying for houses for two months and are yet to be successful.

The management accountant and marketing specialist, have never had a problem finding a rental property but Mr Gupta said it had been an overwhelming experience.

“Unfortunately the rental search has been a nightmare,” he said.

Based in Melbourne and relocating for work, the family cannot attend inspections believe they have been overlooked for easier options.

A two-bedroom unit at 1/42 Ferrers St in Mount Gambier is currently being advertised for $270 per week but is not available until late December. Picture: realestate.com.au

“It’s either you come and inspect the property or you lose it,” Mr Gupta said.

“I did request a few virtual inspections, but the agents have been pretty nice and offering that but none has been actually doing it, so it‘s been all talk and no actual action.”

Mr Gupta was surprised a young family was not a preferred applicant and said they had lowered their expectations.

“Initially we had a criteria but then after awhile you get so desperate that you just don’t put any filter on,” he said.

“You need a three bedder, two bath, a good backyard, front yard, dishwasher, all the bells and whistles you can afford but after a journey of a week or two, you think anything would do.”