Shock over price of Southport rental as costs explode

This simple, three-bed Southport home is up for rent. But it’s one of a number of listings that have left locals gobsmacked because of the price being asked.

A SIMPLE low-key suburban home has been listed for $850 per week as prices continue to explode in the Gold Coast’s overheated rental market.

The Chirn Park listing has sparked incredulity among locals given the property was last listed for rent at a rate of $600pw in June last year.

“Our friends lived in this house 12 months ago and were in there for three years at $550 a week,” one local said. “Ridiculous.”

The home, available for rent through LJ Hooker Southport, was sold to new owners for $870,000 in April this year.

Since then it has undergone substantial renovation.

In its listing, agents highlight the “polished floorboards and tiles throughout”, saying they would mean “minimum housework”.

The property’s location is also put forward as a highlight, being “just a stone’s throw from schools, shops, transport and the trendy Chirn Park area”. No pets are allowed.

However locals remain unimpressed, pointing out the property’s size and lack of a pool.

“It is very nicely renovated but definitely not worth $850 without a pool,” one commented.

Another similar listing for a three-bed house in Parkwood has also caused a stir, with locals saying it showed the rental market as “crazy” and “out of control”. The property was initially put on the market for $850pw on August 15, but agents are now seeking $820pw.

The listings are just the latest to raise eyebrows, with rental prices up 18 per cent year on year on the Gold Coast amid a crippling lack of supply.

On August 4 the Bulletin reported how a working family with a six-week-old baby was forced to live in a Southport motel despite having the income to pay for a rental.

Dr Andrew Clarke from UNSW Sydney said the soaring costs risked pushing low-income families into homelessness.

“Internal migration to regional areas during the pandemic has seen low vacancy rates and skyrocketing asking prices in the private rental market there,” Dr Clarke said.

“... We’re hearing from social services providers that new cohorts that don’t typically experience homelessness at the same scale are finding themselves unable to secure or sustain housing.”

Australian Greens housing spokesperson Max Chandler-Mather.

The crisis is also having a major impact on existing tenants, many of whom have faced demands for steep increases in the rent they pay.

One Pimpama resident said their renewal notice, which they received in July, raised the rent charged by an extra $220pw.

Another resident said they had been forced to cut their spending on groceries for their family after their rent was jacked up by $150pw.

“We ended up renewing but had to cut our budget on things like groceries to cover the increase,” they said.

“We would rather have a roof over our heads for our family.

“We tried to negotiate with the owner but he refused as our rent is still under market compared to similar properties around us which is another $75 more pw. So we just shut up and just accepted the increase.”

On Thursday the Australian Greens called for a two-year rent freeze, after which rent increases would be capped at 2 per cent every 24 months.

Treasurer Jim Chalmers said the federal government was not considering a rent freeze, saying they were instead focused on boosting supply.

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Originally published as Shock over price of Southport rental as costs explode