Record low in housing stock fuels South Australia’s rental crisis

South Australia’s prospective renters are facing unprecedented hardship. Find out why, and help us find a home for someone who needs it here.

Up to 30 prospective tenants are being turned away from each rental property, with many homes attracting hundreds of inquiries within 24 hours of being advertised online.

Turner Real Estate chief executive Emma Slape said the rental market was even tighter than it was this time last year, leaving many people with quality applications frustrated and concerned about their housing needs.

“There simply isn’t enough stock coming on to the market and many family homes sold over the past 12 months have been snapped up by buyers – so that stock is just not there anymore for tenants,” Ms Slape said.

“On most properties, we are getting 20 to 30 applications.

“Tenants are desperate and we understand their frustration, often we could lease our rental properties ten times over to quality tenants.”

Ms Slape said the greatest demand was for family homes.

“We are seeing hundreds of people show interest on a property within 24 hours of it going online,” she said.

“In January, Turner Real Estate rented 51 properties and we had 936 applications for those properties.”

Ms Slape said a solution to the problem would require input from all levels of the community and government.

“As we are seeing the shortage at every price point and all areas of Adelaide, we really need to engage the public and private sector, policy makers and also social housing to look at what we can do to ease this in the short, medium and longer-term,” she said.

Adelaide’s hopeful renters face incredible pressure, real estate experts say. Pic: iStock.

The increased competition for a diminished pool of homes has driven prices up, realestate.com.au data has shown.

Adelaide’s median weekly house rent is $430 per week – up $30 on this time last year – while the median weekly rent for a unit has increased $20 a week to $370.

Real Estate Institute of South Australia chief executive officer Barry Money said rental pressure had been driven by a thriving property market, which had resulted in suburb price records being broken repeatedly across the state over the past year.

“When home prices increase and supply decreases as we’ve seen in the past year, that encourages landlords or investors to exit at the top of the market,” Mr Money told The Advertiser.

“And when community housing and government assets aren’t being replenished at a significant rate, that puts all of the pressure onto the private rental market, which means a flow on effect to the rental properties.

“And that then puts significant stress and pressure on those seeking shelter in a rental situation.”

THE FACE OF SA’S RENTAL CRISIS

Hopeful tenant Colleen Brady at the open if a Lightsview property this week. Picture: Russell Millard

If there was ever a person to encapsulate SA’s rental crisis, it’s Colleen Brady.

The 49-year-old cook is looking for a rental property and said the process was “exhausting and overwhelming”.

“I’ve been looking full-on for the past four months, and on and off since September,” Ms Brady said.

“The house I had previously been renting for three-and-a-half years, the owner decided to sell, so now I’m staying in a friend’s spare room in Sheidow Park.”

“I’ve gone to open houses where there have been more than 100 people lined up down the street,” she said.

“I’ve put eight applications in over the past week and been rejected for them all.”

Ms Brady said that in the past she had been accepted at every home she had applied for.

“I’m having to spend $100 more per week than I was for my house last year,” she said.

She hoped to find somewhere within 30 minutes of Marleston, where she worked, but said her pet ownership had narrowed her options.

“I’m also on my eighth pacemaker,” she said.

“I was born with two holes in my heart, had a complete block when I was just one, and then at 2½ was the youngest person to have a pacemaker in Australia.

“That was in 1975; I was in a lot of newspapers and on TV.

“So yeah, this has been tough. It’s hard not to get overwhelmed by it.”

If you’ve got a property that might be suitable for Colleen, please email [e-mail]