Latest Rental Pain Index data paints worrying picture in North, Mid-North Coast housing crunch

North and Mid-North Coast NSW tenants are forking out eye-watering amounts in rent, particularly along the coastline, as increasingly concerning rental figures paint a sombre picture.

Suburbtrends founder Kent Lardner has raised the alarm as the rental market in the state’s north increasingly tightens.

North and Mid-North Coast tenants are forking out more than half the estimated weekly income, particularly on the coast, as increasingly concerning Rental Pain Index figures paint a grim picture.

Putting it bluntly, Kent Lardner, founder of the online Suburbtrends research tool, said it’s “not a good time to be poor in northern NSW at the moment”.

Everyone wants to live on the coast - but rentals are increasinly hard to come by.

“My concern is that we’ve disconnected population growth from housing,” Mr Lardner said.

“Irrespective of pointing fingers, we ended up with a situation where population has surged and housing has not and the people paying the price for that are being shown up in this report.”

Mr Lardner said those in the lower socioeconomic rungs of the ladder were hurt the most.

“ ... the poorest person in the country is now being pushed out (of the market),” he said.

Rough sleeper Matthew in front of his swag. One of many victims of the tight rental market. Picture: Scott Crossingham

“Notably, in areas like Tweed Heads South, the median income is skewed due to a higher proportion of residents on social security rather than typical wages ... the rental median is $700 with an estimated income of $1057 - leaving a balance of $357.

“Comparatively, in Clear Island Waters, Queensland, (there is) a rental median of $1229 and an income of $1,801, resulting in a balance of $572.

“These figures highlight significant disparities in rental affordability across regions.”

Nambucca Heads on the Mid-North Coast has a median rental cost of $489 and an estimated income of $947, leaving residents with $457.

Residents pushed out of the rental market are living in tents. Picture: Justin Sanson

The least affordable suburbs in northern NSW in the report include Ballina, Banora Point, Byron Bay, Mullumbimby, Kingscliff and Tweed Heads, chewing up more than half of the estimated weekly income.

There has been a slight vacancy rates improvement in the Richmond Valley hinterland at 1.6 per cent.

Kempsey-Nambucca were mentioned in the report as having easing rates of 1.6 per cent.

Rental Pain Price Index July 2024

Meanwhile, Australian Bureau of Statistics data shows a significant decline in discretionary spending over the past year, reflecting the strain on household budgets.

“Housing costs, consuming over 30 per cent of income, are significantly impacting disposable income,” Mr Lardner said.

“This high expenditure on housing reduces the funds available for non-essential purchases, leading to a decrease in discretionary spending.”

He said this trend was likely to persist, impacting not only households, but the broader economy due to reduced consumer spending.

High rents are taking a bite out of the nation’s disposable income.

“The first wave of this (housing) pressure came about as a result of the Covid exodus,” Mr Lardner said.

“So we had all these people rushing out of Sydney with surplus profits and they’ve come in to the Northern Rivers, especially coastal parts, and it was 101 economics, crowding out.

“They could come in and bid $100,000-plus more for a house and push the locals out.

“What we found in that first wave was local incomes got totally disconnected from house prices.

“Now we’re seeing the exact same thing happening in the rental space.”

He pointed to the emergence of so-called ‘tent cities’ littered across the north of the state.