Video shows Australia’s rental crisis as dozens queue for Melbourne rental property

A hopeful renter has shared the giant line of people he was confronted with when inspecting a two-bedroom rental property in Melbourne.

Hordes of hopeful renters have been filmed queuing up to view a property in Melbourne, as the country’s rental crisis continues.

A video shared by TikTok user ‘Bnod Basnet’ shows dozens of hopeful renters lining up to inspect a two-bedroom, one-bathroom apartment in Melbourne’s inner-city suburb of Flemington on Wednesday afternoon.

Footage shows the crowd stretching from outside the apartment complex to down a footpath along the street, a number of houses away.

The prospective renter who shared the video told news.com.au they “don’t understand” how the rental crisis has reached the level it has.

He said he was among many who submitted an application but likened the prospect of getting chosen for the property to “playing Tattslotto”.

The line stretched outside the apartment complex and onto the street several houses away. Picture: TikTok@bnodbasn

The TikTok user compared applying for rental property to “Lotto”. Picture: TikTok@bnodbasn

Prue Bryant, the general manager at Woodards, said there was an excess of 50 people who attended the property, which is listed for $370 per week in rent, $70 below the median rent for a two-bedroom apartment in Flemington.

She said the “affordable price point” was one reason that contributed to the high turnout.

“Flemington is a very sought after location given that it’s close to the city and universities,” she said.

“The property was also listed online just prior to Christmas so anyone that was obviously at home over Christmas looking for a rental property would have seen the open time.”

Despite already securing a number of applications, she said the agency is still receiving requests for more people to inspect the property.

Ms Bryant added January is typically the busiest month of the year for leasing out properties, with the Flemington apartment a “really good example” of how “crazy” the start of the year can be for rentals.

“People often relocate in January, they might be taking a job interstate or they might be relocating to the country,” she said, adding she sees a lot of university students who are also looking for housing this time of year.

Ms Bryant said January is the busiest time for rental inspections. Picture: Getty/iStock

It comes after a panel of economic experts predicted rental prices will continue to climb across the country in 2024.

The steepest increase is forecast for Perth, where rents are expected to climb by an average of 9.5 per cent, according to comparison website Finder.

It means the average minimum household income required to afford renting a house in Perth will be just over $108,000 or almost $95,000 for a unit.

In Melbourne, rents are expected to increase by 6.8 per cent in Melbourne and 6.5 per cent in Sydney.

Finder’s head of consumer research Graham Cooke said: “Finder’s Consumer Sentiment Tracker shows 42 per cent of renters are currently struggling to pay their rent, which is higher than the 37 per cent of mortgage holders in the same position.”

“Much of the conversation around rate rises focuses on homeowners, but it’s actually renters who are proportionally feeling the impact more, as they deal with flow-on rent increases.”

“Further rent increases won’t be welcome news for those struggling”.

– With NCA NewsWire