NSW real estate rentals: How to find a home in the south coast rental market
With the rental market harder than ever to break into, real estate agents have explained some clever ways to secure your property.
The South Coast News
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While the south coast has become the most difficult place in the state to find a rental, property managers say there are a few ways those looking for a rental can get their foot in the door.
The Real Estate Institute of NSW has revealed the rate of available rentals on the south coast plummeted from 4.8 per cent in March to just 0.3 per cent by the end of the year, the lowest rate in the state behind the mid-north coast on 0.4 per cent.
LJ Hooker Nowra principal Patrick Tynan said there are a few things people can do to stand out when their application reaches landlords, who make the final decision on who moves into their property.
“Every time we put a rental up we get inundated with applications,” he said.
“Things that can help these applications stand out include a good rental history and good references.
“Pets can also be an issue, but if you are a good tenant with a good payment history we can advocate for you if you have a pet.”
According to recent data from the Real Estate Institute of NSW, rental availability on the south coast has dropped from 2.7 per cent to just 0.6 per cent over the past 12 months.
Batemans Bay Property Management principal Tracy Smith said people should “get in quick” if they want to be approved for a rental.
“We look for things like good references, and people should get everything they need for an application together before they apply.
“People should get in quick because we aim to show a property on a Saturday and have everything organised for landlords by Monday.”
Principal of Merimbula’s One Agency Dwyer Properties David Dwyer said young people with no or limited rental history are struggling to enter the property market.
“It’s unfortunate that with house prices going up and rentals going up it’s hard for everyone,” he said.
“We have a database of people we contact when a property becomes available, so I recommend getting on that.
“Good references also come into it, as well as character references and references from past landlords.
“Owners want to know if you’ve got a good record and have been neat and tidy.
“It’s about proving you pay your rent on time and look after the property.”
South coast teacher Marcus Mundy said it has been “very difficult” searching for a rental in Batemans Bay after moving from Bega as he had not rented before and there “wasn’t much available”.
Months later he is still looking.
“I’ve applied for rentals and didn’t hear back. I also spoke to a lady in one of the real estates about it and she said I don’t have much of a chance because I have no references,” he said.
“If nothing comes up I’ll just have to keep travelling back and forth from Bega to Batemans Bay (a daily round trip of four hours) for work.”
Mr Mundy described the situation as “appalling”, adding he was shocked to hear residents are living on the streets due to a lack of rentals.
“People shouldn’t be living on the streets at all in this country,” he said.
So dire are the numbers, residents have taken to Facebook community noticeboard pages in an effort to find a roof over their head.
Amelia Paunga moved from Melbourne last year, and was recently forced to take to a south coast noticeboard asking for a “cheap rental” after searching for nine months with no luck.
“Waiting for a rental has been awful,” she said.
“We make pretty good money and we don’t even get a look in. In Melbourne, a rental is easy to get. I agree people affected by bushfires should come first, but it’s so hard.”
Ms Paunga said other family members have been searching and applying for 12 months, and said while they will keep looking for now, the time will come where they may be forced to move away.
South coast real estate agent and former developer and local councillor Joe Smith said he received at least one letter a week from residents pleading with him to be approved for a rental property.
“You just cry reading them because they are women with children living out on the street,” he said.
“I know the market here backwards and I’ve never seen it this tight. The bottom of the market is saturated, which is sad.”
He said applications for properties have more than doubled in the last year, and even residents with “substantial bank accounts” still can’t get a rental.
Real Estate Institute of NSW chief executive Tim McKibbin said the steep decline has been largely due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the ability to work from home now taking people beyond the typical 100 kilometre radius of the Sydney CBD.
“We are seeing people cash out their Sydney home and go to a regional area to buy a property arguably more comfortable than their city home and put money in their pocket in the process,” he said.
Mr McKibbon said he has seen Sydney residents buy regional properties online without even seeing the home in person, and Australians returning from overseas are making “health decisions” and buying in regional areas.
“What other people have done is go into these areas and rent for 12 months until they are satisfied they can make it work,” he said.
Mr McKibbon said renters have the advantage of returning to the city “when the world returns to normal”, as they will avoid having to liquidate an asset first.
“While it is difficult to predict the future and we are still taking dictation from the market, my prediction is more people from Sydney will join the exodus to the lovely south coast,” he said.
Mr Smith said new infrastructure and airports like Moruya and Merimbula are a draw card for Sydneysiders, and said a lack of investment in low-income housing in the Eurobodalla must change.
“I think private enterprise and government need to get together to help the situation,” he said.
Nowra property manager Gemma Stamper said for the first time in her career she has no rental properties available. She said 12 months ago she would have at least 20 available.
“I worked all through COVID and we’ve had an influx of Sydney people into the market, and I’ve never seen so many investors selling. It takes many rentals off the market,” she said.
“I’m even pushing builders I know to build more because of the lack of properties.
"It’s quite sad. I don’t think it’s going to get any better for anyone.”
Further south in Merimbula, real estate agent Steve Haslam from Sails Real Estate described the situation as “pretty extreme”, with staff “flat out” dealing with an increase in volume of applicants looking for a rental property.
“The volume of people applying is huge and there is not much on the market for them,” he said.
“We’ve seen it since the bushfires and COVID but even before that it was pretty extreme.”
Gilmore federal Labor MP Fiona Phillips said she has been raising concerns about south coast housing availability “for months” due to the “urgency of the situation”.
“Social housing waitlists are out of control and people are telling me they are waiting years for priority housing. Governments at all levels need to get serious about addressing this crisis now,” she said.
Eden-Monaro Labor MP Kristy McBain said local businesses have told her the lack of rentals was making it difficult for them to find staff.
“I’ve heard of mums, dads and kids having to sleep in tents or their car or crashing with friends and family,” she said.
“Hundreds of people needed a roof over their head after our Black Summer, and we’ve seen people from the city escaping COVID and moving into their holiday home.
“I believe there is a real opportunity here. Building better and more affordable housing creates jobs, brings people to town, improves people’s wellbeing and the resilience of our community,” she said.
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