Melbourne rental crisis: Properties snapped up in record time as tenants fight for homes

Melbourne’s rabid rental market has been likened to “The Hunger Games”, with properties being snapped up in record time as tenants fight for limited stock.

A three-bedroom apartment at 25/43-51 Jeffcott Street, West Melbourne, is available for rent for $900 per week.

Melbourne’s rabid rental market has been likened to “The Hunger Games”, with properties being snapped up in record time as tenants fight for limited stock.

Rental properties spent a median of just 17 days on realestate.com.au before being leased in March, according to PropTrack’s latest Market Insight Report, down from the previous tightest time frame of 18 days in February.

Inner suburban pads flew of the site fastest, in a median of just 15 days, with city life well and truly back post-pandemic.

PropTrack senior economist Angus Moore said the market continued to get tighter.
“The unfortunate news for renters is there’s probably no reprieve on the immediate horizon, and rental vacancy rates are extremely low and have only moved lower in recent months,” he said.

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The three-bedroom house at 342 Station St, Carlton North, is available to rent for $750 per week.

The large living space has lots of natural light.

A large courtyard at the rear of this spacious property.

Melbourne’s vacancy rate has halved over the past year to sit at 1.39 per cent, with the median property rent rocketing $45 from $415 to $460 per week.

Mr Moore said the inner city and inner southeast being the fastest leased markets was a flip from the pandemic’s exodus to outer suburbs and regional areas.

“In contrast, the Mornington Peninsula, which was one of the most popular parts of Melbourne during the pandemic, has seen rentals lease more slowly than a year ago and is now taking 25 days typically, which makes it the slowest part of Melbourne,” he said.

The two-bedroom house at, 74 Collett St, Kensington, is available to rent for $660 per week.

The Kensington abode has an open-plan kitchen, living and dining area.

The sun-filled rear yard has a paved entertainment area.

Tenants Victoria director of community engagement Farah Farouque said the private rental market had become “like The Hunger Games, with competition intensifying amid other cost of living pressures”.

“We don’t see any end in sight with record low vacancies and we need more action from government, including introducing a cap on rent increases here in Victoria,” she said.

“The people hurting most are those on low and now even renters on middle incomes are being challenged – even a good rental history is no buffer against these brutal market forces.”

Across regional Victoria, rentals remained on site slightly longer, increasing from a median 20 days a year ago to 23 days in March.

— Sarah Petty

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Originally published as Melbourne rental crisis: Properties snapped up in record time as tenants fight for homes