PropTrack reports that the share of rental properties listed for rent on realestate.com.au for less than $400 has plunged to just 16.2% in April 2023 – the lowest share on record.
A year ago, 30.2% of all rental listings were under $400 a week, and at the beginning of the pandemic, 41.8% of rental homes were listed below $400 a week.
Source: PropTrack
The share of total rental listings under $400 a week has hit the lowest level on record in all capital cities, except Hobart and Darwin.
The share of total rental listings under $400 per week halved in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, Hobart, Darwin, the ACT, and regional WA over the past year.
PropTrack also forecast that the Albanese Government’s extreme immigration program, whereby 715,000 net overseas migrants are officially projected to land in Australia in the two years to 2023-24, will lead to further declines in affordable rental listings.
Source: 2023 Federal Budget
“The nation’s rental market is in dire straits, with little sign of meaningful reprieve on the horizon”, PropTrack notes.
“Advertised rents are recording strong price increases and vacancies are at historic lows amid a shortage of rental supply”.
“Strong demand, bolstered by rising immigration, is outstripping the supply of available rentals”.
“As a result, the cost of renting is climbing and the share of rental listings below $400 is set to remain low”, PropTrack warns.
Even Blind Freddy can see that increasing rental demand 715,000 migrants over two years will inevitably tighten the rental market even more, driving rents higher and forcing thousands of people into homelessness.
The Albanese Government’s unprecedented immigration surge is an unmitigated housing and inequality disaster.
