The Qld suburbs where your rent could go up $300wk by December

Tenants are facing rent rises of more than $300 a week before the end of the year in some Queensland suburbs. SEARCH FOR YOUR SUBURB

Tenants are facing rent rises of more than $300 a week before the end of the year in some Queensland suburbs, with exclusive analysis predicting the average cost of leasing a unit to increase by a staggering 30 per cent.

The analysis by SuburbTrends found the average rent for a unit in Brisbane is expected to jump from $546 a week currently to $729 per week by the end of the year — almost as much as the average house rent of $774.

SCROLL DOWN TO FIND YOUR SUBURB

New research from SuburbTrends reveals unit rents in Brisbane are tipped to rise by more than 30 per cent by December.

But in suburbs like Regents Park, Bray Park, and Sandgate, tenants are facing rises of around 50 per cent or about $250 a week for units.

On the Gold Coast, similar increases in rent are predicted in Mermaid Waters, which would push the weekly cost of leasing a unit up by $326 to $1066.

RELATED:

Halved: QLD’s rental pool shrinks as rents push tenants to brink

This two-bedroom unit at 13/9 Jodie Court, Mermaid Waters, is available for rent for $700/wk.

SuburbTrends founder Kent Lardner said the meteoric predicted rise in unit rents was being driven by affordability.

“People are being squeezed out of houses, so they’re going into units and that’s driving rents higher,” Mr Lardner said.

A typical Brisbane house rent is likely to jump by 11 per cent to $774 a week by December, with 34 per cent of an average household income dedicated to rent, but they could rise even more in some parts of Queensland.

In the Roma region, house rents are tipped to rise 28 per cent by the end of the year, with similar increases expected in Elimbah and Babinda.

House rents in the Gold Coast suburbs of Mermaid Beach and Broadbeach are predicted to jump by $239 or 24 per cent to hit a weekly cost of $1239 by December, according to SuburbTrends.

This three-bedroom house at 14 Pasadena Court, Broadbeach Waters, is available for rent for $820/wk.

“The average wage is not welcome in this suburb,” Mr Lardner said. “You can see in the numbers there’s a shift towards the wealthy.”

Tenants renting a house in the Brisbane suburbs of New Farm, Kangaroo Point, and Highgate Hill are looking at rises of between 23 and 27 per cent.

Mr Lardner said the biggest issue facing Queensland’s rental market was the imbalance between housing supply and demand.

This three-bedroom house at 179 Kent St, New Farm, is available for rent for $850/wk.

“It’s been traditionally such an affordable place, and that’s part of the driver for a lot of people coming in (to Queensland),” he said.

“There’s way too many people for the amount of properties we’re supplying, and it’s a double whammy in Queensland because people are still steaming over the border.

“You’re getting to the point where you can no longer argue that it’s affordable. There are pockets where we’re still seeing that like Cairns and the Wide Bay region, but it’s only a matter of time before this contagion creeps up on these locations.

“How bad would it be it be to be under 25 right now?”

This three-bedroom house at 38 Laura St, Highgate Hill, is available for rent for $680/wk.

It comes as the state government this week released a rental reform package including financial support, a portable bond scheme, modifications to rental properties, a Code of Conduct for the sector, and a ban on rental bidding.

But Ray White AKG Group CEO Avi Khan said the legislation would only encourage more people to sell their investment properties in Queensland, further limiting the supply of rental housing.

“This legislation is making sure investors have less confidence in the Queensland housing market,” Mr Khan said.

SuburbTrends founder Kent Lardner.

“We need to work with investors, developers, and local councils to get out of this crisis. We cannot alienate one group over another.

“I’m seeing a very high appraisal request rate from landlords, which shows in six months’ time, these are the people who will sell their investment properties.”

The Real Estate Institute of Queensland (REIQ) says the reforms do not address the rental market pressures primarily caused by a lack of new social housing and private rental supply.

“With this round of reform, they’re creating an administrative nightmare with portable bonds, and potentially opening the door to tenants making modifications to rental properties without the consent of the owner,” REIQ CEO Antonia Mercorella said.

REIQ CEO Antonia Mercorella.

“We already have strict legislation surrounding rent bidding in Queensland, which requires a listing price be advertised and prevents real estate professionals from asking for offers above and beyond that.

“If you fix supply, history shows that affordability stays in check because people aren’t compelled to offer more to increase their chances of success among a big pool of applicants. A focus on supply would render most of these reforms redundant.”

The latest figures from PropTrack reveal Queensland’s available rental pool has shrunk by almost two thirds in just four years, with vacancy rates in Brisbane declining even further in January.

This one-bedroom unit at C/42 Romulus St, Robertson, is available for rent for $530/wk.

The latest PropTrack Market Insight Report shows the share of rental properties vacant and available in both Brisbane and regional Queensland is 58 per cent lower now than it was at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020.

Despite this, Queensland’s population increased by more than 138,000 people in 2022/23 alone, with record overseas migration accounting for 84,000 of those new residents.

Several regions recorded vacancy rates even lower than Brisbane during the last quarter, including the Sunshine Coast (0.58 per cent), Cairns (0.63 per cent), Wide Bay (0.79 per cent), Darling Downs-Maranoa (0.82 per cent), and on the Gold Coast (0.85 per cent).