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A new report has identified the top 25 suburbs in Australia that are in desperate need of more affordable rental housing.
The quarterly Suburbtrends Rental Crisis Report found that the 25 suburbs have incredibly low vacancy rates, below state average household incomes, and weekly rents that are excessively high compared to incomes. Furthermore, the suburbs have a very low building approvals pipeline, indicating that the rental housing problem is unlikely to be fixed anytime soon.
To create the top 25 rankings, Suburbtrends, a property research company, analysed every rental house market in Australia, filtering out suburbs that contained more than three vacant rental properties, had a vacancy rate above 1.5%, or had household income levels in the upper 50% of the state, among other criteria.
The remaining suburbs were then ranked based on their median weekly rent, reported as a percentage share of average weekly household income that became the study’s measure for rental affordability.
The suburbs identified were spread across five states, with 13 out of 25 in Queensland and the rest in NSW (5), South Australia (4), Western Australia (2), and Victoria (1).
At the top of the national list is Queensland’s Main Beach, where rents account for 71% of household income. This was followed by Tweed Heads South and Eastlakes in NSW, where rents are 70% and 63% of income, respectively.
All 25 suburbs in the ranking had a vacancy rate under 1.5%, while some had a vacancy rate of 0%. The report also clarified that rental properties are regarded as officially vacant when they’ve been on the market for 21 days or more.
“A significant number of suburban areas throughout Australia are experiencing a severe shortage of rental properties, with vacancy rates at historic lows and tenants facing difficulties in securing adequate housing,” said Suburbtrends founder Kent Lardner (pictured above).
According to Lardner, the situation is particularly dire for renters in socio-economically challenged communities with low household incomes, because they “face limited choices and significant difficulties in securing appropriate housing” compared to “well-to-do renters in upscale suburbs” that have better housing options due to being able to work remotely.
"The Suburbtrends Rental Crisis Report sheds light on the suburbs hardest hit by the shortage of rental properties,” Lardner said. “While we acknowledge that finding a solution to this crisis is complex, we call on the Australian federal government to collaborate with state and territory governments to increase the supply of rental properties and alleviate this pressing issue.”
