Sydney share house demand surges

Demand for share houses has seen an early peak, with Sydney homeowners and room seekers desperate to curb affordability and a tight rental market.

Taylor Troeth

2 min read

November 9, 2023 - 5:00AM

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Sydney homeowners and room seekers are becoming desperate to curb Sydney’s housing and affordability challenges as share house demands increase, new Flatmates.com.au data reveals.

The large volume of traffic Flatmates.com.au has recorded in October isn’t usually seen until its peak in December.

After an already busy September, this month recorded an 11.2 per cent jump in new members up 15.6 per cent from October last year, according to new Flatmates.com.au research.

Share houses have seen a surge in demand as rental markets tighten and affordability continues to challenge Sydney sides. Picture: David Caird

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New property listings on Flatmates.com.au have also increased significantly, up 9.7 per cent over the month, as the rising cost of living has driven people to look at new ways of generating additional income.

With Sydney having the highest house prices its ever seen, the rental stock vacancy is at the lowest in over a decade, according to PropTrack.

The demand for share house living has soared with hundreds of people searching for available rooms – an alternative to getting into the pricey and tight rental market.

The Sydney suburbs with the highest demand, but no rooms available, were Clovelly with 516 seekers, Elizabeth Bay, 188 seekers and Curl Curl with 148 seekers.

A room in the beach side suburb of Clovelly was the highest in demand with no supply on Flatmates.com.au in October.

Other popular suburbs with no supply and high demand include South Coogee, City of Sydney, Barangaroo and Moore Park.

Community Manager, Claudia Conley said Flatmates.com.au usually sees a big peak over the summer months.

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“The demand for share accommodation is heating up well ahead of our peak season,” she said.

Ms Conley revealed this year has been the busiest year on record for Flatmates.com.au.

Half of property listings on Flatmates.com.au were from homeowners as mortgage stress creeps in. Picture: Jeremy Piper

“It’s clear more Australians are turning to share accommodation as pressures on the rental market and a cost-of-living crisis fail to die down.”

Homeowners are also renting out their spare rooms to curb mortgage stress and cost of living, with 38 per cent year-on-year increase in listings on Flatmates.com.au.

“Half of all property listings on Flatmates.com.au are from homeowners, with the majority of these being live-in landlords renting out a spare room in their home,” Ms Conley said.

“Despite this growing trend, more property listings are still needed across the country to keep up with the growing demand for share accommodation.”