Via CoreLogic:
Rental rates increased by 0.1% nationally in December 2017 with capital city rents unchanged and regional rents up 0.5%. The recent disparity between growth in rents in capital city and regional markets is mirroring what is being seen with dwelling values. At the end of 2017, weekly rents were recorded at $421 nationally, with figures of $455 across the combined capital cities and $350 across the combined regional markets.
Over the month, rental rates increased in Melbourne (+0.1%), Adelaide (+0.5%), Hobart (+0.9%) and Canberra (+0.9%), were unchanged in Brisbane and Perth and they fell in Sydney (-0.3%) and Darwin (- 0.3%). Taking a look at the current median rents, Sydney is substantially more expensive than all other capital cities for houses ($599/week) and units ($561/week).