Suburbs where rents are getting cheaper: top Aussie areas for tenants

Parts of the country are finally emerging from the stranglehold of the rental crisis, with landlords in some areas slashing rents by up to $100 a week. See how your area compares

Struggling tenants in pockets of the country may finally be getting relief from the recent onslaught of rent hikes as local landlords slash prices by up to $100 a week.

Some of the biggest rent reductions were recorded in Queensland and NSW, according to exclusive PropTrack data, which measured rent changes across every suburb in the country over the last year.

There were also minor falls in regional Victoria, Perth and Hobart, while in South Australia there were 20 suburbs and towns where rents fell.

The unexpected rental falls were at odds with rental markets across most of Australia, where record low vacancies and a migration-fuelled population boom have fuelled an extreme rental shortage.

This Sydney house was listed in for $250 per week less than the rent advertised in January.

That shortage has been exacerbated by building delays and developer bankruptcies, which have put a brake on the roll out of much needed new housing.

Rental supply in Adelaide and Perth has been particularly strained. Both cities had fewer than 850 new rental listings over September, with vacancy rates dropping to under 0.5 per cent.

SEE THE BIGGEST RENT FALLS IN NSW

Rents for all categories of housing in the five major capitals increased by more than 10 per cent over the last year, data from SQM Research showed.

Despite the challenging conditions, rents did not rise everywhere and a mix of local trends meant there was variance in price movements across different areas, said PropTrack senior economist Paul Ryan.

Mr Ryan said one of the most noticeable improvements were in suburbs across the Gold Coast, Sunshine Coast and Queensland’s coastal north. Queensland had a total 124 suburbs where rents fell.

A recent rental inspection in Sydney. Picture: Adam Yip

He told the Courier Mail that rental growth in Queensland had passed its peak and spectacular rent increases over the past year were unlikely to be repeated.

“There’s less pressure on the regional Queensland market than there has been in the past three years,” he said.

“We are still seeing population flows from NSW and Victoria into Queensland, but it does look like demand has reduced a bit since the Covid period supercharged that internal migration.”

SEE THE BIGGEST RENT FALLS IN QLD

Local agents reported areas like the Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast had benefited from a recent rise in investor purchases, which increased the supply of rental stock and took pressure off tenants.

Experts also noted a reversal in the pandemic era trend of former CBD workers moving to coastal “lifestyle” markets in regional areas to capitalise on work from home arrangements.

Some of the suburbs where rents dropped were, surprisingly in Sydney.

The suburbs were located in the city’s north, northwest and Central Coast, with the biggest rent reductions – up to $100 a week – recorded for houses.

Rents fell in quite a number of Sunshine Coast suburbs. Picture: Getty Images

There was a particularly sharp rental drop in parts of The Central Coast, where landlords who had previously listed holiday homes on short-stay sites like Airbnb were leasing them out for longer periods.

This followed recent threats from regulators to clamp down on the short-stay sector, with some local governments such as Byron Shire Council already beginning to enforce limits on short-term rentals.

Rents also dropped in coastal holiday towns in regional NSW such as Casuarina, Mollymook, Ulladulla and others.

Tenants weren’t as lucky in Melbourne, where there were no suburbs with rent falls. Some of the falls in regional Victorian rents were in Ballarat suburbs.

Melbourne’s CBD has been key battleground for tenants as demand for inner city properties heats up.

Barry Plant Yarras Edge’s Geoff White told the Herald Sun that Melburnians who moved to semi-regional areas during the pandemic were returning to the city after being required back at their offices.

SUBURBS WHERE RENTS HAVE FALLEN ANNUALLY (with average rent fal)

NSW

See the full Sydney and NSW list

Lake Cathie -11.49%

Evans Head -11.11%

Corrimal -10.20%

SOUTH AUSTRALIA

See the full Adelaide and SA list

Encounter Bay -7.22%

Unley -6.67%

Fulham -6.67%

QUEENSLAND

See the full Brisbane and QLD list

Peregian Beach -7.69%

Doonan -7.04%

Alderley -7.01%

VICTORIA

See the full Victoria list

Canadian -5.13%

Swan Hill -3.74%

Barwon Heads-3.23%

WESTERN AUSTRALIA

Swanbourne -7.14%

North Beach -7.14%

Dalkeith -4%

Source: PropTrack