The Sydney suburbs where rents are falling

A dozen Sydney markets and three in regional NSW are offering tenants refuge from the rental crisis.

They’re the suburbs offering tenants refuge from Sydney’s rental crisis – in a city where skyrocketing prices and long lines of home seekers at open for inspections have become the norm.

A report from rental review site Rent Rabbit shows there are 12 markets in Sydney and three in regional NSW where rents have dropped over the past year due to a rising number of untenanted properties.

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I inherited my rental off my landlord

These ranged from housing markets in the Northern Beaches to unit markets in the south west, with some median rents dropping by more than 10 per cent since May 2021.

There has been high demand for rental properties across much of Sydney. Picture: Adrian William.

While most came from a low base, all of the markets recorded an increase in the number of properties remaining empty for 21 days or more after being listed for rent.

Data from SQM Research shows vacancy rates across Sydney dropped from 3.1 per cent to 1.6 per cent year on year in April, however, Rent Rabbit’s Better Renting report showed several markets bucked this trend.

The house market of Prairiewood in the Fairfield region experienced a 300 per cent increase in the number of properties staying vacant for three weeks or more, with the number rising from one to four and the median rent dropping 7.8 per cent from $510 to $470 a week.

Vacancies in the house market of Castlecrag in the lower North Shore increased by 200 per cent from one to three while rents dropped from $1,600 to $1,500 a week.

Higher vacancies mean better bargaining power for renters. Picture: Matt Loxton.

In the Northern Beaches suburb of Beacon Hill, the number of units remaining empty for three weeks or more rose 400 per cent from one to five, bringing rents down from $510 to $480 a week.

But while the number of prolonged vacancies has increased across the markets, available housing has remained relatively low.

Most markets in the list had fewer than 10 properties that remained vacant over a period of three weeks.

RentRabbit.com.au co-founder Ben Pretty said the lack of tenant-friendly suburbs in Sydney was concerning.

Ben Pretty, co-founder of Rent Rabbit.

“Throughout much of Sydney, the data shows that vacancy rates are low, vacancy rates are

falling and rents are rising,” he said.

“Thankfully, though, there are some markets where vacancy rates are increasing and rents

are decreasing, which means tenants aren’t completely out of options.”

“That said, I am concerned about the future. Now that the international border has reopened,

Sydney’s population growth is likely to return to pre-pandemic levels. Unless we see a

corresponding increase in the supply of rental properties, the number of tenant-friendly

suburbs in Sydney is likely to decrease.”

Rents have gone up in many Sydney suburbs.

Top 15 ranking

Ranking	Suburb	Market	No. of vacancies (May ‘21)	No. of vacancies (May ‘22)	Change %	Median rent (May ‘21)	Median rent (May ‘22)	Change %
1	Prairiewood	Unit	1	4	300	$510	$470	-7.8
2	Castlecrag	House	1	3	200	$1,600	$1,500	-6.3
3	Beacon Hill	Unit	1	5	400	$510	$480	-5.9
4	North Narrabeen	Unit	1	4	300	$540	$520	-3.7
5	Speers Point	Unit	4	7	75	$470	$450	-4.3
6	Putney	Unit	3	5	66.7	$650	$580	-10.8
7	Windang	Unit	1	3	200	$330	$320	-3
8	Tempe	Unit	4	7	75	$360	$320	-11.1
9	Padstow Heights	House	2	3	50	$600	$550	-8.3
10	Cremorne Point	House	10	14	40	$1,650	$1,475	-10.6
11	Sydenham	Unit	4	5	25	$390	$350	-10.3
12	Oatlands	House	4	6	50	$650	$600	-7.7
13	Greenwich	Unit	12	16	33.3	$480	$475	-1
14	Birchgrove	Unit	7	9	28.6	$590	$570	-3.4
15	Surf Beach	Unit	2	3	50	$360	$350	-2.8

Source: Rent Rabbit Better Renting Report

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Originally published as The Sydney suburbs where rents are falling