Revealed: Qld suburbs with biggest rent hikes

Tenants are forking out up to $20,000 more a year to keep a roof over their heads in suburbs worst hit by the state’s rental crisis.

Rental vacancy across Queensland is excruciatingly tight

TENANTS are forking out up to $20,000 more a year to keep a roof over their heads in the suburbs worst hit by Queensland’s rental crisis.

New PropTrack data reveals the extent of price hikes across the state, as rising immigration puts extra pressure on the supply of available rental properties in both metro and regional areas.

Overall rents across Brisbane were up 15 per cent since last year, but parts of Queensland recorded staggering increases of up to 55 per cent during the same period.

Lifestyle markets of the Gold and Sunshine Coasts notched up the biggest dollar increases, with weekly rent for houses in Paradise Waters and Clear Island Waters up $400 since — equating to an eye-watering $20,800 a year.

This Surfers Paradise villa is advertised for $1800 a week.

Median weekly rent in Paradise Waters went from $850 to $1250, and from $1000 to $1400 in Clear Island Waters.

Further north, rent prices for houses in Sunshine Beach and Mons were up $330 and $245 respectively, or up to $17,160 a year.

In Brisbane, tenants in New Farm were paying $235 more a week to rent a house, and $9,256 in Spring Hill. Median rent in those inner-city areas hit $1100 and $778 respectively.

For houses, tenants in Graceville were slugged with an additional $170 a week, to a median of $780, while in Middle Park the increase was $140 to $665.

Weekly rents also lifted for units in the River City, particularly in inner-city and waterfront areas.

Worst hit for units were South Brisbane (up $100), North Lakes ($100), and Murarrie ($95).

In the regions, rents in Castle Hill, Townsville went from $460 to $680 a week, while parts of Moreton Bay and Wide Bay also recorded big increases.

In Woodford, the median weekly rent for a house soared from $340 to $530 a week — or a whopping 55.9 per cent hike.

Clear Island Waters house advertised for $985 a week.

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PropTrack economist Angus Moore said rental vacancies remained “extremely tight” across the state, at 1.2 per cent in Brisbane and 1.4 per cent in regional Queensland.

“When you consider that anything under a 2 per cent vacancy is considered a tight rental market, those levels are very, very tight indeed,” Mr Moore said.

“A lot of factors have driven the tight rental market in Brisbane. A big part of that has been very strong population growth, both from interstate in 2020/21 and also now the return of international migration, but that is far from the whole story.”

Mr Moore said the number of people per household fell through the pandemic, while cheap finance saw owner-occupiers snap up former rental properties.

“We need more houses to meet demand. Markets are very competitive and properties that are available are moving very quickly, so renters are having to make quick decisions to secure a property from a very limited rental pool,” he said.

PropTrack economist Angus Moore

Mr Moore said further price increases were likely as vacancy rates remained critical, however noted a “silver lining” with a recent uptick in investor activity.

A recent survey found 1 in 4 Aussies were taking on extra work to make ends meet, with 3 per cent coming out of retirement to meet soaring rent and mortage costs along with the rising cost of everyday essentials.

Finder money expert Sarah Megginson said “living frugally” was not enough to cover increases for many.

“As food prices continue to soar and many struggle to pay their mortage or rent, 14 per cent of respondents say they have started working longer hours to earn more money,” Ms Megginson said.

“Households are having to buckle down and find ways to increase income as inflation increases the cost of everything from groceries to petrol to energy and insurance.”

A 2-bedroom 1-bathroom unit at South Brisbane advertised for $550 a week.

Surfers Paradise Ray White chair Andrew Bell said the Queensland Government needed to encourage more investors into the market.

The recently announced cap on rent price hikes, while intended to soften the blow of rising costs, was an added disencentive, he said.

“Given we are in a current environment where there is a substantial rise in international migration, of which most first enter the real estate market as tenants, this is a looming disaster,” Mr Bell said.

Ray White Surfers Paradise chairman Andrew Bell.

He said more than 90 per cent of Australian landlords were everyday people who “nervously take on the large financial responsibility of buying an investment property in the hope of building a small nest egg”.

“Governments should be creating incentives to attract everyday Australians into buying rental properties to house their fellow Australians.”