Revealed: Crazy cost of a single room in a Brisbane sharehouse

The average cost of a single room in a Brisbane sharehouse has surpassed Melbourne, with some desperate renters spending nearly twice that amount just to secure a roof over their heads.

The average cost of a single room in a sharehouse in Brisbane has surpassed Melbourne, with desperate renters spending up to $750 a week just to secure a roof over their heads.

An exclusive survey of over 10,300 respondents across Australia by Flatmates.com.au has revealed that cost of living pressures and record low vacancy rates are forcing more people to turn to sharehouses just to keep a roof over their heads and to stay financially afloat.

The survey revealed that a single room in Brisbane now costs, on average, more than a whole house in some Brisbane suburbs just a few years ago, with the median weekly rent in Brisbane City, Fortitude Valley and Newstead now $400 a week, $30 more than one in Melbourne ($370 a week, and on par with a room in the Victorian suburbs of Armadale, Collingwood, Prahran and St Kilda East.

Aerial view of the Brisbane City, where a single room in a sharehouse will set you back, on average, $400 a week now. Picture: Brendan Radke

A room in an inner-Brisbane sharehouse is also more expensive than a similar offering in Adelaide ($319), Perth ($350), Hobart ($233), Canberra ($370) and Darwin City ($350).

Sydney has the most expensive single rooms in the nation, with all of its top 10 suburbs charging between $490 to $600 a week on average.

It is cheaper to rent a room in a sharehouse in Melbourne than it is in Brisbane. Picture: Mark Stewart

Meanwhile, renters in St Kilda in Melbourne are forking out $490 a week, while those in Mount Hawthorne in Perth are spending $420 a week.

But a search of Flatmates shows that while $400 is the median rent being paid for a single room in Brisbane, some are charging north of $600 for a bed in a flat share, while a one-bedroom apartment has recently been listed for $750 a week, bills not included.

And it is not much better in other inner-city suburbs, which are often home to students, key workers and single person households.

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Listed for $600 a week including bills for a singe or $650 for a couple is this private room with its own bathroom.

Rounding out Brisbane’s top 10 most expensive suburbs for a room in a sharehouse were Milton ($380), Parkinson ($375), South Brisbane ($370) and Bowen Hills, Cleveland, New Farm and Paddington ($350).

Flatmates.com.au community manager Claudia Conley said the dire conditions nationally were forcing renters to find new ways to keep a roof over their head,

“Australians are looking for new ways to navigate the rental crisis and tackle the rising cost of living,” she said.

“Over the past year, our audience has grown in size and diversity.

“And with the peak season for share accommodation at our doorstep, we expect demand for share house living to grow.”

The results come after PropTrack revealed that Queensland’s rental crisis had deteriorated further in October, with experts warning that it would only get worse by the new year.

New tenants across the state are now competing for just 5500 homes, with the statewide rental vacancy rate plummeting to a record low of 0.87 per cent – below the national average of 1.02 per cent.

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This is currently the cheapest room on offer in Brisbane City and listed at $250 a week including bills.

PropTrack economist Anne Flaherty said it was a major concern that Queensland conditions were deteriorating at such a crucial time, given rental peak demand was not far off in January.

“We’ve never seen the vacancy rate as low as it is right now in Queensland and it’s actually been trending downwards for five years now,” she said.

“If you’re a renter in Queensland, you’re facing really tough conditions pretty much everywhere across the state.”

PropTrack economist Anne Flaherty

Forty-eight per cent of survey respondents said that the primary reason they were living in share accommodation was because they could not afford to live on their own.

The survey also revealed that 23 per cent of respondents entered the share accommodation market for the first time in the past year, while 37 per cent struggled to find accommodation in the past 12 months, up from 28 per cent in 2022.

Of the respondents who listed a spare room, 67 per cent cited interest rate rises as the reason for doing so, while 47 per cent of respondents who identified as homeowners decided to offer their home as a share house for the first time in the past 12 months.

Renters line up to inspect a unit for rent in Kedron. Image: Debra Bela.

Flatmates members aged between 55 and 64 years old were the fastest growing demographic in the past year, recording a 21 per cent annual increase, according to the survey.

The national median rent for a room in a sharehouse is currently $290 a week.

“Share accommodation is a long-term and legitimate way to live for many Australians, and until more homes are built to keep up with the demand for rentals, we expect share accommodation to remain popular,” Ms Conley said.