Gympie rental affordability worsens amid Sunshine Coast boom

New figures reveal the alarming rental affordability squeeze gripping Gympie, which one expert says is putting more people at risk of homelessness, while it faces becoming a “dormitory” suburb for coastal workers.

New figures reveal the alarming rental affordability squeeze gripping Gympie which one expert says is putting more people at risk of homelessness, all while the region braces for the possibility of becoming a “dormitory” suburb for Sunshine Coast workers.

The Sunshine Coast is surging forward as the place to be in Queensland, and it turns out Gympie residents are literally paying the price for the boom, and not just financially.

A new Rental Affordability Statistics report released by SGS Economics Group, Brotherhood of St Lawrence, National Shelter and Beyond Bank reveals Gympie renters are paying up to a quarter of their income on rent, up from about one sixth in early 2020.

Despite this tightening it was the affordable choice for those looking for a home at the Sunshine Coast, the report says.

In 2020, the coast still had “some areas with acceptable levels of affordability”, but at the end of 2023 it was almost “entirely” or “severely” unaffordable and “the nearest suburb offering acceptable rents now is Gympie”, the report says.

Residential Tenancy Authority data shows the Sunshine Coasts’s median weekly rent for dwellings rose $50 between December 2022 and December 2023.

Alarming new figures highlight Gympie’s growing housing crisis

A new rental affordability report says Gympie is now the most affordable rental option near the Sunshine Coast, where suburbs are now all “entirely” unaffordable, despite the region itself experience a drop in its own rental affordability with residents forced to pay more from their income towards rent bills.

Gympie’s median weekly rent had increased by the same amount, but its $460 average at the end of 2023 was almost $200 cheaper than down the coast, where the median was now $650.

The affordability report classifies “severely unaffordable” as an area where 38-60 per cent of income is spent on rent.

An “unaffordable” location was where 30-38 per cent of income went to rental payments, while an “acceptable” level – as Gympie was rated – was where rent bills took 20-25 per cent of a person’s income.”

The squeeze might only get worse in coming years.

The new Wide Bay Burnett Regional Plan identifies Gympie as having the potential to become a “dormitory suburb”, where people live while commuting to the Sunshine Coast or other parts of the southeast corner for work.

Community Action Group general manager Ruth Tidswell said the organisation had experienced a “significant” increase in the number of applications for emergency relief in the past year, and the primary issue that needed to be fixed was more affordable housing options.

This would only increase the number of people competing for homes in an already struggling market, and put further pressure on the core problem Community Action Group general manager Ruth Tidswell said needed to be fixed.

“The primary issue is no affordable housing and a lack of dwellings,” Ms Tidswell said.

In the past two years CAG had experienced a “significant increase” in the number of people seeking emergency relief support.

It had fielded 2143 requests in the 2022-23 financial year, a number which – with the help of additional funding – was nearly double the 1104 requests made in 2021-22.

The new Wide Bay Burnett regional plan says Gympie could become a “dormitory suburb” for the Sunshine Coast, where people will commute south for work, and increase the number of people looking for places to live in the region.

Anyone could find themselves in the squeeze too.

“Working families are finding they’re at threat of homelessness,” she said.

The consequences of this shortfall could be seen on the streets.

“We see more evidence … of people that are sleeping rough,” Ms Tidswell said.

The drop in affordability was felt in other parts of the Wide Bay Burnett and regional Queensland too.

The 4655 and 4660 postcodes – Hervey Bay and south Bundaberg – have been rated as “moderately unaffordable” in the latest data.

It was a problem being felt across the state as the “median rent price is the same in regional Queensland as in Greater Brisbane, despite the average rental household income outside of Brisbane being about $8000 lower”.

“This means that the average rental household in regional Queensland would pay an additional 2 per cent of their income in rent compared to their Brisbane counterparts.”