Under $500pw: Where to find Sydney’s cheapest rents

These are the Sydney suburbs with the most affordable rentals, including where rents are still below $500 per week.

They’re the most affordable suburbs for Sydney tenants, where you can still find rental properties under $500 a week.

Sydney’s rental prices are far from affordable for many struggling tenants, and what is deemed ‘affordable’ varies across each household.

Ray White senior data analyst Atom Go Tian has analysed rental asking price data and ABS median weekly earnings to determine rental affordability.

The analysis determined the most affordable suburb with the largest portion of rental houses listed under $500 was Blacktown.

The Western Sydney suburb had 158 listings within the 12 month period from April 2023, and a median rental price of $550, according to Core Logic data.

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Ray White has determined the most affordable suburbs with the most listings under $500. Photo: Jenny Evans.

This followed by Campbelltown with 140 listings, and St Mary’s with 137 listings under $500.

In the last 12 months, only 11 per cent of houses on the Sydney rental market were listed under $500, and 14 per cent of units, according the Ray White analysis.

Central Coast suburbs Umina Beach, Gorokan, Toukley and Woy Woy also made the top 10 for the most affordable houses to rent in Greater Sydney.

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Sydney’s top 10 suburbs with the most affordable houses to rent. Source: Ray White and Core Logic.

Mr Go Tian noted that rental affordability was difficult to measure.

“Rent should be lower, yes, but this doesn’t answer the question of how low it should be because it would be unfair to demand rent stay flat,” he said. “A helpful perspective would be to consider weekly rent as a percentage of weekly earnings.”

“If we take weekly earnings at $1,431 and if we assume the share of rent to stay flat relative to what we earn at 33-35 per cent, then weekly rent should only be between $475 to $500 a week.”

Affordable rentals were hot commodities in Sydney’s testing rental market. Picture: Liam Kidston

For units, the most affordable suburb was Liverpool with a total of 621 listings under $500 in the last year and a median rent of $450.

This was followed by Parramatta, Penrith, Lakemba and Blacktown.

Inner city suburbs including Potts Point and Campsie also made the list with 225 and 201 listings respectively.

Sydney suburbs with the most affordable units to rent. Source: Ray White and Core Logic.

Across the country, Mr Go Tian said Hobart stood out as the most affordable for renters, with 32 per cent of all house listings and 62 per cent of unit listings over the last 12 months coming with an asking rent under $500.

However, Sydney wasn’t deemed the least affordable city.

Atom Go Tian, Ray White senior data analyst.

“In terms of houses, Gold Coast and Canberra are the least affordable with only two and four per cent of their listings coming under $500 (not that there were many listings to begin with),” Mr Go Tian said.

“In terms of units, it’s Sydney and Gold Coast that trail the pack.”

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Originally published as Under $500pw: Where to find Sydney’s cheapest rents