Renters with means jump ship as rent hits $620/wk across Qld
Queenslanders sick of the expensive rental merry-go-round are jumping ship as soon as they can, as new data shows median rent is now $620 a week across the state.
Queenslanders sick of the expensive rental merry-go-round are jumping ship as soon as they can, as new data shows median rent is now $620 a week across the state.
The latest PropTrack Rental Report June 2024, out Tuesday, found not only are rental properties taking two days longer to rent out now in Brisbane compared to a year ago – 20 days versus 18 days previously – but demand from renters has also eased dropping a massive 11.7 per cent to 27.39 enquiries per listing.
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PropTrack Director Economic Research and report author Cameron Kusher said rental price growth had slowed, rising 3.3 per cent in Brisbane and 4.2 per cent in regional Queensland to $620 a week – compared to a 9.1 per cent increase nationally.
He said “weakening rental growth likely reflects the trade-offs that renters are making due to the heightened cost of rent and living”.
“Some of these trade-offs may include renting smaller properties, renting in less desirable locations where rental costs are cheaper or sharing rental accommodation with other tenants.”
“Increased lending activity to first home buyers has seen renters with the means exiting the market to purchase, while increased lending to investors will also likely alleviate some rental pressures.”
A repayment level of $620 a week is suitable for a $440,000 mortgage, according to the Mortgage Choice repayment calculator, which would apply to properties across 12 suburbs in Greater Brisbane, including houses on Macleay and Russell Islands, and units across Logan Central, Kooralbyn, Woodridge, Beenleigh, Waterford West, Mount Warren Park, Booval, Goodna, Slacks Creek and Caboolture.
Mr Kusher said first homebuyer loans over the year to May 2024 grew 6.2 per cent nationally with the number of loans to investors also rising 7.9pc.
The investor rebound was a phenomenon only just witnessed over the past year, he said, with many having exited the market nationally in recent years.
Brisbane’s rental supply has grown in the year to June with total listings on realestate.com.au up 2.4 per cent though new listings were down 5.3 per cent. Proptrack found Brisbane’s total rental stock in June 2024 was 30.1 per cent less than the decade average to June 2022.
SEE THE LATEST PROPTRACK HOME PRICE INDEX
The rental vacancy rate in Brisbane is now 1.2 per cent – still a very tight market even though it eased by 0.19 percentage points in the June quarter.
There’s less competition for rentals in regional Queensland than Brisbane – averaging 22.51 enquiries per listing – but that figure was still a 16.6 per cent annual rise for the rest of the state where homes take one day less to rent now – 19 versus 20 a year ago.
Rental supply in regional Queensland tightened in June, with new and total listings on realestate.com.au dropping by 13.7pc and 10.1pc respectively.
Originally published as Renters with means jump ship as rent hits $620/wk across Qld