‘Tenant’s dream’: rents slashed by up to $400 per week across inner Sydney

Rising vacancies have turned parts of Sydney into a “tenant’s dream” where renters are getting unprecedented choice, big discounts and other unusual perks.

Tenant Sofia Charalambous said agents were calling her trying to make rental deals. Picture: Liam Driver

Rents are being slashed by up to $400 a week in central Sydney and tenants have the power to set their own terms on lease lengths and keeping pets as landlords grapple with a vanishing pool of renters and rising vacancies.

Housing experts said the market was a “tenant’s dream” and renters held all the aces in price negotiations, particularly within inner suburbs usually populated with international students, travellers and hospitality workers.

Find My Rental Property director Melissa Maimann said tenants weren’t simply getting rent reductions.

“You can get a better place on better terms like a shorter lease or be allowed pets where they weren’t previously allowed,” she said.

MORE: Anxious sellers in tears at auction

HomeBuilder to aid in market recovery

Close to one in seven ­rental units in the CBD and surrounding suburbs were sitting empty last month, with rents an average 18.4 per cent lower than three months ago, SQM Research data showed.

A unit in this building on Kent St was $1250 per week, now its $990.

There was a similar drop in Glebe rents while, on the ­opposite side of the Harbour, unit rents in Kirribilli and Lavender Bay dropped an ­average of nearly 15 per cent below March levels.

Unit rent falls in Pyrmont, Surry Hills and Mosman were about 10 per cent.

Renters’ agent Marcelle Wever of Sydney Rental Search said some properties were available at prices last seen in the mid-2000s.

“Landlords are desperate,” she said. “There are more properties available near the city than I have ever seen.”

Finder.com.au insights manager Graham Cooke said those willing to move were in a good position to upsize. “If you’ve been itching for a nicer place, now could be a good time to take some ­action,” he said.

Nic Fren, with Laing and Simmons agent Silvia Vitale, said he was “very happy” with his new Rushcutters Bay pad. Picture: Tim Hunter

Listing records showed some of the most heavily discounted properties once commanded weekly rents well over $800. A three-bedroom unit on the 12th floor of a building at 591 George St in the CBD was recently listed for $800 per week, well below the January price of $1200.

On nearby Kent St, another three-bedroom unit was recently listed for $990 per week — $260 below the 2017 rent.

Similar deals were being offered for homes on Elizabeth St and Clarence St, while in nearby Ultimo multiple properties were available with more than $100 slashed off the rent.

This rental unit on George St in the CBD was cut by $400, from $1200 per week to $800.

The rent for this unit on Alberta St in Sydney was cut by $200.

In Sydney Olympic Park, where close to one in 10 rental units are sitting empty, there are multiple apartments with $50-$100 discounts.

Sofia Charalambous said she was shocked how easy it was to find a new house to rent with her two friends. They secured a home in Marrickville for $100 below the previous weekly rent.

“We applied for two places and got offered both,” she said. “It was weird to have agents chasing you, making offers. They never used to do that … we felt really lucky.”

Sofia Charalambous (left) with housemates Rhiannon Watson and Johann Suhood at their discounted rental in Marrickville.

Nic Fren recently moved into a new apartment in Rushcutters Bay and also said agents had started phoning him, which they “never did before”.

Laing and Simmons-Potts Point head of property management Rachel Nichol said landlords tended to offer discounts for security of tenure as lengthy vacancies were often costlier than cutting the rent.

Originally published as ‘Tenant’s dream’: rents slashed by up to $400 per week across inner Sydney