Cheapest Aussie suburbs to rent revealed

Rents across Australia continue to climb, but there remains affordable and liveable housing out there if tenants know where to look.

Rents across Australia continue to climb but there remains affordable and liveable housing out there if tenants know where to look.

According to CoreLogic’s Hedonic Home Value Index, national rents rose another 0.7 per cent in September, taking them 6.4 per cent higher for the year thus far and 8.4 per cent higher over the past 12 months.

Record immigration and a lack of supply continues to put upward pressure on rents with vacancies dropping to new record lows over the past month.

CoreLogic reported rental vacancy rates in the capital cities fell to 1 per cent in September and 1.2 per in regional Australia. Both new lows for records that have been kept since 2006.

Vacancy levels are a now third of what they were before Covid.

Families across Australia are struggling with the growing costs of renting.

“Rent markets remain tight pretty much everywhere,” CoreLogic’s research director Tim Lawless said.

“The pre-Covid average for capital city vacancy is 3.1 per cent. To see some cities with a vacancy rate persistently at sub 1 per cent levels is alarming to say the least.

“No doubt there are a broad range of negative social outcomes stemming from the undersupply of rental housing, the worst being increased rates of homelessness and rough living.”

Adelaide’s rental vacancy rate is the worst in the nation in regards to capital cities at just 0.3 per cent. Hobart’s is the highest at 2.5 per cent.

One positive for renters is despite vacancy rates tightening, the pace of rental growth in most markets has slowed.

Across the combined capitals, rents rose 1.9 per cent in the September quarter. That’s down from 2.7 per cent in the June quarter and 2.9 per cent in the quarter before that.

Annual rental growth looks to have peaked but at 10 per cent over the past year, it still remains very high.

“However, this is probably a signal that rental affordability constraints are forcing a structural change in household formation as group rental households re-form and renters seek to maximise their tenancies in an effort to spread rental costs across a larger household,” Lawless said.

“Data released by the RBA earlier this year clearly shows a rise in average household size following a drop in the average number of persons per household during the worst of the pandemic.”

There still remains hope for those seeking rental accommodation. This is where the cheapest suburbs to rent in each capital city are.

CHEAPEST SUBURBS TO RENT IN SYDNEY

In Sydney, rentals are available for as low as $190 per week.

According to PropTrack data, Outer Western Sydney suburbs of Tregear, Blackett, Willmot and Lethbridge Park saw the cheapest house rents across Sydney with an average weekly rent of $400, while closer to the CBD the inner west suburb of Homebush was the cheapest at $680 per week.

When it came to the cheapest unit rentals, the middle ring suburb of Carramar topped the cheapest list with an average weekly rent of $320, followed by Canley Vale at $350.

MORE: From just $190 per week – Sydney’s cheapest suburbs to rent

CHEAPEST SUBURBS TO RENT IN MELBOURNE

In Melbourne, some suburbs have rentals for $350 per week.

PropTrack found 10 suburbs with a median unit rental price below $350 a week, and Melton and Laverton the only options for tenants seeking a house at the figure.

Advertised rental prices had grown 13.8 per cent in the past year which PropTrack senior economist Paul Ryan said has added a “huge amount of financial pressure” on Melburnians and there was little reprieve in sight.

The pace of rental price growth has slowed.

“Every single renter in the city essentially has seen rents go up by more than 10 per cent this year which puts a huge amount of pressure on everyone’s finances,” he said.

MORE: Cheapest suburbs to rent a house or unit in Melbourne revealed

CHEAPEST SUBURBS TO RENT IN ADELAIDE

In Adelaide, trying to find an affordable rental close to the city can be challenging, but new data shows the Adelaide suburbs where you have the best chance of doing just that.

PropTrack data highlights Adelaide’s most affordable inner-ring, middle-ring and outer-ring suburbs for rental houses and units, revealing Adelaide’s most cost-effective options within easy reach of the CBD.

MORE: Where to find Adelaide’s cheapest rentals near the city

CHEAPEST SUBURBS TO RENT IN BRISBANE

In Brisbane, the 60 most affordable suburbs to lease a property in Brisbane’s inner, middle and outer rings have been revealed as the city’s rental crisis continues to worsen.

The 10 cheapest rental suburbs for houses in Brisbane’s inner-ring are all less than 10km from the CBD and all have median weekly rents of more than $500 a week — except for one, according to exclusive new data from PropTrack.

PropTrack senior economist Paul Ryan said the data offered a “stark look at the state of the rental market” in Queensland.

“Brisbane rents are up nearly 15 per cent over the past 12 months and that’s putting a huge amount of financial pressure on many people,” Mr Ryan said.

“Tenants are paying over $500 a week in the cheapest possible inner-city locations, and it doesn’t get that much better the further you go out either.

“The benefit of these lists is that you can see clear trends of where people should look for relative affordability, but the numbers (in Brisbane) are really high.”

MORE: Top 60 cheapest suburbs to rent in Brisbane revealed

Originally published as Cheapest Aussie suburbs to rent revealed