Families looking to rent a house are finding it tough, with the median rent in Melbourne hitting a record high and increased competition leading to a tightening vacancy rate.
Some agents are reporting prospective tenants having to apply for up to six houses before being successful, particularly in the eastern suburbs, where demand is driven by desire to live in prestigious zones.
Melbourne’s median weekly asking rent for houses hit $400 for the first time, jumping $10 over the December quarter, the latest Domain Group quarterly rental report shows. The median unit rent was steady at $370.
Let’s just swing over to Core Logic for a quick fact check:
We’ve never seen rental growth as sluggish as it is at the moment. Furthermore, we’re expecting to see more of the same over the coming months due to increases in the supply of new housing, rental stock and a further slowdown in migration rates.
“The only cities to see an increase in weekly rental rates were Sydney with an increase of 1.9%, Melbourne (2.2%), Hobart (0.6%) and Canberra (1.9%) while rates fell in Brisbane by (-0.3%), Adelaide (-0.2%), Perth (-8.0%) and Darwin (-13.3%),” Mr Kusher said.
The weighted median CPI is currently growing 2.2%. Thus Melbourne rental growth is zero in real terms. And it has the largest construction pipeline of any capital city in Australia.
