‘Critical lack’ of affordable housing pushes locals out of the Southern Highlands

The number of rentals in the Southern Highlands is at an all-time low, with locals are being priced out of the region. Find out where you can still rent a home.

Potential renters across the Southern Highlands and the Illawarra are struggling to find somewhere to live with a ‘critical’ lack of affordable housing in the area.

A Rental Affordability Snapshot based on real estate listings has been released by Anglicare, and it confirms what real estate agents already know - there is a troubling lack of affordable rental housing in the Wingecarribee Shire.

The the report, which looked 25,000 listings across Greater Sydney and Illawarra, it found there was almost no affordable rental housing available for low-income households in the Southern Highlands and surrounding areas. Housing is defined as affordable if a tenant spends 30 per cent or less of their income on rent.

The Rental Affordability Snapshot highlights a “potentially dangerous time” for renters in Greater Sydney and Illawarra regions.

The survey found there were no suitable rentals for single parents or single people on income support like JobSeeker in the Southern Highlands. Of 137 rental properties available in the area, only one was affordable for a couple on income support.

While there are a paltry 118 properties available in the three largest towns, there is an obvious lack of rental availability in the smaller villages. Robertson had four rental options, followed by Bundanoon with three, then Braemar and Burradoo with two, and Colo Vale, Yerrinbool, and Tallong all only had one rental option.

There were no properties at all for rent in Balmoral, Welby, Hill Top, Glenquarry, Kangaloon, Berrima, Sutton forest, Alpine, Exeter, Wingello, Penrose, or Kangaroo Valley.

Highlands Property Real Estate agent Laura Cleveland said renters were finding it increasingly difficult to find suitable vacant rentals.

“Available rentals doesn’t necessarily mean they’re in an area that someone wants to live in or needs to live in,” she said.

The report shows that listings have halved in the last year and rental prices are at an all time high. Ms Cleveland agreed that demand has increased in the region.

“Rental prices have been going up and up,” she said.

According to the report, the average cost of renting a home in the Southern Highlands has risen by 12 per cent in the last year. Ms Cleveland said the average rental price in the Highlands is currently $568 a week.

She said a lack of supply was driving up rental prices in the area.

Current statistics from jacksonwall and Investar reveal the dire rental situation.

At the beginning of the pandemic in March 2020, there were 180 properties listed but now Ms Cleveland says they’re “lucky” to list 60 rentals.

Organisational manager at jacksonwall real estate, Louise Schofield, said the lack of supply was increasing pressure on affordable rentals.

“The lower supply of houses in the rental market is pushing up the weekly rents – causing some properties to become out of reach for middle income families,” she said.

The Anglicare report found a fifth of people in the region rent their homes. Ms Cleveland said the ballooning rental prices means many Highlands residents were being ‘priced out’ of the area.

“There are a lot of people (who were renting) who have moved out of the area,” she said.

Not only are there fewer rental houses on the market, but the available rentals were getting snapped up faster than ever before, Ms Schofield said.

“Days on market for rental properties are at an all-time low,” she said.

Many residents are renting their homes out on websites like Stayz for short-term visitors instead of long-term renters. Picture: Stayz

Many residents are also taking advantage of the booming real estate market and selling their properties for maximum gain, Ms Cleveland said.

“A lot of properties are being lost from the collective rental pool in the Highlands, which is decreasing supply and increasing demand,” she said.

“It’s getting quite desperate.”

With none of the upcoming housing developments focusing on affordable rentals for lower-income locals, Ms Cleveland said the situation was unlikely to change.

The bottom line, according to the report, is the Southern Highlands was facing a “critical lack of affordable and appropriate housing.”