Housing crisis: Brisbane rents rise faster than Sydney, Melbourne

Brisbane rents have soared 15.6 per cent in 12 months, the highest of any capital city or region in Australia. And it is not much better in other parts of the Sunshine State.

The weekly rent for this Carindale house will increase by $100 to $1200 a week once the current break lease agreement ends in November

BRISBANE rents have soared 15.6 per cent in 12 months, the highest of any capital city or region in Australia.

The median dwelling rent (houses and units) in the city is now $520 a week, up an average of $85 in a year.

For houses, tenants are now paying a median rent of $550 a week (+11.1%), while for units, rents have soared 10.7 per cent to $465 a week, according to the latest PropTrack Market Insights report.

Brisbane rents have soared. Picture Brisbane City Council.

But tenants have reported much steeper price hikes, with current “break lease” rental listings including a house at Carindale which will increase $100 a week to $1200, an Ashmore house going up $80 to $680 a week and a two-bedroom unit in Southport that will go up $100 to $700 a week.

This Ashmore house is going up by $80 a week

And the PropTrack report paints a dismal picture for the months ahead, revealing that median dwelling weekly rents in Brisbane increased by four per cent in the past three months alone.

In the “Rest of Queensland”, median dwelling rents rose 6.4 per cent over the year to hit $500 a week, with houses up 8 per cent to $540 and units up 7.1 per cent to $450.

“Advertised rental prices continue to grow rapidly across the country,” the report said.

“Rents nationally are up 11 per cent over the past year in response to ongoing strong rental

demand and very low vacancy rates.

“With rental market conditions extremely tight, we expect rental prices will continue to climb. “This is particularly the case in capital cities, where rent increases have not yet eased since accelerating in early 2022.

“In the regions, rent growth has slowed after significant rent increases throughout the pandemic.”

Brisbane’s vacancy rate is currently 0.8 per cent, Cairns (0.8%), North Queensland (1.5%), Gold Coast 1%) and Sunshine Coast (1.2%), according to SQM Research.

Brisbane’s vacancy rate. Source: SQM Research

Desperate renters are applying for dozens of properties, with some even resorting to couch surfing, sleeping in cars or in tent cities.

Others are being forced to accept questionable accommodation.

A recent Queensland Council of Social Service (QCOSS) report said Brisbane apartment rents had risen by 23 per cent and house rents had risen by 33 per cent since 2020, and those increases had been even higher in regional areas such as Gladstone, Noosa and the Gold Coast.

“Homelessness in Queensland has risen by 22 per cent since 2017, compared to only 8 per cent across Australia,” the recent Queensland Council of Social Service (QCOSS) report said.

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk announced a shake up to rental rules last week as stakeholders gathered at state parliament for the latest housing roundtable.

Rents will only be allowed to be increased once in a 12 month period, rather than the initial suggestion of a rent price cap that drew the ire of property experts and landlords. .

There will be no limit on how much that once yearly rent rise can increase by, and landlords may still be able to increase rents more than once if they have two different tenants signing on seperate six month leases in a 12 month period.

Source: PropTrack

But Queensland is not the only state facing a housing crisis, with a National Housing Finance and Investment Corporation (NHFIC) revealing that conservatively more than 331,000 households are already in rental stress – defined as paying more than 30 per cent of their income in rent.

NHFIC forecasts a shortage of around 106,400 dwellings over the next five years.

In Adelaide, the median dwelling rent has increased 13.3 per cent, Sydney is up 11.3 per cent and Perth is up 11.1 per cent, according to PropTrack.

For houses, Adelaide (+13.6%) and Perth (+13%) have seen the biggest increases, while for units, tenants in Melbourne (+12.8%), Perth (+12.5%) and Adelaide (11.1%) have weathered the biggest price hikes.

The smallest increase in dwelling rents was in the ACT --- up 4.3 per cent.

Speaking after the Reserve Bank of Australia decided to keep the cash rate on hold at 3.6 per cent, Ray White economist Nerida Conisbee said housing remained the main driver of inflation.

“Rents, however, continue their rapid rise and are unlikely to ease anytime soon given a widespread shortage of homes,” she said.

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