Hope amid the pain: Where to find a rental in SA

SA is facing a rental crisis. We reveal the five suburbs where it’s easiest to secure a rental, and the five suburbs where it’s easier to rent now compared to five months ago.

The rental market might be as tight as it has ever been, but new data reveals the suburbs where hopeful tenants have the greatest chance of finding a place to live.

According to PropTrack, Henley Beach, on Adelaide’s western coastline, is the easiest suburb – with a minimum of 10 current listings – in metropolitan Adelaide to secure a rental in, with 2.5 per cent of all rental homes in the suburb available for lease.

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Homes in the CBD rated second for hopeful tenants, with 2.09 per cent of rental properties available.

The northeastern suburb of Campbelltown had the third highest percentage of available stock, at 1.97 per cent, and North Adelaide was virtually on par with Campbelltown at 1.96 per cent.

Brompton on Adelaide’s northwestern fringe rounded out the top 5 with 1.92 per cent.

New homebuyer Erin Riley said she was grateful she and her partner Matt Hatton were able to escape the tight rental market and create a sense of security for their young family by buying a property.

“There’s such a shortage of existing homes and finding something we could afford that met our family’s needs was quite challenging,” Ms Riley said.

Matt Hatton and Erin Riley with their children, Abigail, 6, and Felicity, 11 weeks, at their new home. Picture: Justin Lloyd.

According to PropTrack data, Brompton’s vacancy rate has had the greatest increase over the past 12 months – up 1.23 per cent to 1.92 per cent – ahead of Campbelltown, where vacancy rates have risen 0.84 per cent to 1.97 per cent.

Harcourts Packham’s James Packham said the rental market was robust, with low vacancy rates and rising rents delivering solidly for investors, but that this was not without its issues for those looking to rent.

“This is good news for landlords, who can command higher rents and enjoy low levels of turnover,” he said.

“However, it also means that tenants are facing increased competition for rental properties and may need to pay more to secure a rental home.”

Hopeful tenants inspect a property in their droves. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Jeremy Piper

The problem is exacerbated by the incredibly low supply of new homes in many suburbs.

According to SuburbTrends data, Adelaide has the equal lowest percentage of new stock of any mainland capital.

Latest census data shows there were 775,135 private homes in SA in August 2021.

In contrast, there were just 12,923 new build approvals during the 2021-22 financial year, representing a pipeline of new stock of just of 1.7 per cent, the same amount as New South Wales.

Tenants are finding it harder than ever to secure a rental. Pic: iStock.

The data also revealed both metropolitan Adelaide and regional SA had the worst vacancy rates in the country at 0.9 per cent respectively.

Mawson Lakes/Globe Derby Park has the lowest percentage of new dwellings, the data showed, with just one building approval during the 2021-22 financial year, equating to 0.0 per cent of the total housing supply.

Woodcroft, which has 4502 dwellings, was second with 15 approvals, or 0.3 per cent of total stock.

SuburbTrends managing director Kent Lardner said buyers and renters in these suburbs were being squeezed due to limited options available.

“Considering the very low pipeline supply in the area, it also means that very few new properties will be entering the market anytime soon, creating further pressure on home buyers and renters,” Mr Lardner said.

“The situation’s dire and the problem’s not going away.”

He said new housing stock growth rates were well below the average population growth rate of 1.5 per cent per annum.

“With the amount of builders going bust, it’s likely completion rates will be significantly lower than what the approvals show,” he said.