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

Despite Sydney’s rental crisis, there are suburbs out there with affordable and livable accommodation. You just have to know where to look.

More and more Sydneysiders are being forced to settle for unappealing rental options, however rents as low as $190 per week are still achievable.

In the challenging environment of escalating weekly rents, low stock and massive competition, there are suburbs across Sydney – including the inner west – where prices are not ridiculously out of reach.

However experts say it’s forcing Sydneysiders to make hard compromises on size and quality.

Exclusive PropTrack data has broken the Harbour City down into the inner, middle and outer rings and revealed the cheapest suburbs to rent in those areas.

Listing image of a one-bedroom unit at 39A Rossmore Ave, Rossmore recently rented for $190 per week.

MORE

How renter bought six properties on single income

Aussie house prices ‘set to soar 15 per cent’

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.

PropTrack’s data also revealed the cheapest listings recently for rent – with many still available – excluding share and seniors accommodation and student rentals. This revealed a dated, small unit in Rossmore for $190 per week, along with a small and basic Enmore studio at $220 per week.

A studio on Cavendish St, Enmore, is up for rent at $220 per week.

Inside the basic studio.

PropTrack senior economist Paul Ryan said rental prices across Sydney were higher than anywhere else in Australia, however the data revealed there were some “relatively affordable” suburbs.

“History matters here, Western Sydney was always the working class suburbs,” he said.

“The inner west has always been the best option for cheaper suburbs closer to the city. The other reason the inner west is more affordable is due to the amount of development in areas such as Waterloo, Alexandria and Ashfield.”

Senior Economist at PropTrack Paul Ryan.

MORE

New real estate uplift ‘not just seasonal’

Sydney to be hit by ‘extraordinary price and rent changes’

However he said the cheapest listings identified were not the prettiest.

“If you are on a tight budget some of these can make sense,” he said.

According to PropTrack, the average Sydney median rent was $650 per week, while the median house rent was $675 and unit rent $610.

“Rents have risen 18 per cent over the past 12 months,” Mr Ryan said.

“I can’t imagine how people are coping with this.”

Image inside a one bedroom duplex at 27A Delamere St, Canley Vale, for rent at $270 per week.

He said the positive side of the situation was the push for more development.

“That’s one part and we also need to reconsider what zoning allows across the city,” he said.

“The new homes are being built in southwest Sydney and most apartment developments are going up in the Parramatta area. There’s no reason why we can’t do better and spread out more developments across the city.”

My Housing Market chief economist Dr Andrew Wilson said median rents across Sydney “crystallises what a tough ask it is for tenants”.

Property economist Dr Andrew Wilson.

A one-bedroom apartment inside 26 Orpington St Ashfield is for rent at $300 per week.

Inside the Ashfield apartment.

“It’s a tough ask to find something you could call affordable,” he said.

“And ones that are cheaper are not ideal. We are seeing a lot of family demographics moving into units. When there’s not enough accommodation, you just have to make do with what’s available. People are saying ‘I can’t afford anything more’.

“Renters are choosing one bedders when they really need two. Those are the decisions that renters are facing.”

Dr Wilson said the only thing stopping rents rising more quickly was that average incomes can’t keep up.

“Demand is miles ahead of supply and there is no relief in sight,” he said.

“We have a net positive inflow of international students. It never rains, it pours. Sydney has always been a tough rental market but it’s a basic economic equation being that there’s not enough housing.”

He said the situation made home ownership “more important to escape the pitfalls of the rental market”.

Originally published as From just $190 per week: Sydney’s cheapest suburbs to rent