Sydney has 98 of the 100 most expensive suburbs to rent a room in shared accommodation
ALL but two of the 100 priciest suburbs to rent a room in a sharehouse are concentrated in one region. And the rents there on single rooms now cost more than rents on entire houses elsewhere.
RENTING just a single room in an inner Sydney sharehouse has become pricier than leasing entire houses further west or in other capitals.
Flatmates.com.au research has revealed that 98 of the 100 most expensive suburbs to rent a room in share accommodation are in Sydney, with the majority located within 10km of the CBD.
Darling Point, Milsons Point and Point Piper were ranked the three most expensive, with room rental rates in sharehouses averaging more than $375 per week.
The same amount would be enough to rent a three-bedroom house outright in suburbs such as Penrith, Kings Park or Seven Hills.
Other suburbs with exceptionally high median room rental rates were Pyrmont, Elizabeth Bay and Rushcutters Bay, where rooms tend to rent for more than $350 per week.
The Australian average weekly rent for a room in share accommodation is just $197.
Real estate analysts explained that expensive shared living costs are a symptom of rapidly deteriorating affordability in Sydney’s rental market as a whole.
Harbour City renters are already burdened with paying an average of $6500 a year more in rent than their Melbourne counterparts, Core Logic research shows.
Those renting Sydney units also pay $10,400 more in yearly rent than Adelaide unit renters and $5200 more than Brisbane renters, on average.
Part of the reason for the growing gap in prices is that Sydney tenants have less housing options: the Harbour City remains the only capital with an undersupply of housing.
Flatmates.com.au CEO Thomas Clement said the low supply of available housing has squeezed room renters into suburbs not traditionally associated with share housing.
“Even just a few years ago sharing was still predominantly an inner-city trend,” he said.
“This is not necessarily the case today, which is why we are seeing the likes of Darling Point and Point Piper on the list.”
People’s reasons for living in shared homes have also evolved, Mr Clement added.
Many choose share houses not for financial survival, but for aspirational reasons: by joining forces with other renters they can live in beach- and harbourside suburbs that would otherwise be out of their price range.
Melbourne’s two most expensive suburbs for room rentals made up the difference of suburbs among the top 100 priciest — albeit placed at 70 and 85 in the rankings.
10 PRICIEST SUBURBS FOR ROOM RENTALS (per week)
Darling Point $387
Milsons Point $380
Point Piper $376
Pyrmont $370
Elizabeth Bay $369
Millers Point $362
Tamarama $361
Rushcutters Bay $358
Zetland $350
Kirribilli $354
Originally published as Sydney has 98 of the 100 most expensive suburbs to rent a room in shared accommodation