Australia

QLD regions where rentals under $400 are not possible

The days of looking for a property to rent under $400 in Queensland are almost over. The number of properties available for that price or below is at a record low, according to a new survey.

According to the latest PropTrack Market Insight Report, 1 in 10 homes in Brisbane and 1 in 5 in rural Queensland cost less than $400 a week, a steep decline since the Covid-19 pandemic began. increase.

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A single bedroom in this Coopers Plains share house is listed for $190 per week


Across Brisbane, the number of homes under $400 a week has halved since last September, falling from 31.2% to just 14.6%.

In March 2020, when the pandemic began, nearly half (48.7%) of all rental homes were listed for $400 or less.

9 Eliza Street, Clayfield has 3 bedrooms and is listed for $400 a week


And if you’re looking to rent a home, it’s even worse, with homes down to just 10.1%, down from 25% a year ago and 46.3% in March 2020.

In terms of units, the news is not much more, with the number of available units plummeting from 51.5% in March 2020 to 28.3% in September last year, to just 21.1% as of September 30th of this year.

But it’s even worse on the Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast, where the number of sub-$400 a week homes on the market has dropped to just 2.4% and 7.4% respectively.

To put it in perspective, at the start of the pandemic, 23.9% of all Gold Coast homes were listed under $400, compared to 23.3% on the Sunshine Coast.


According to the latest REA Market Trends report for October, there are no suburbs (homes or units) on the Gold Coast or Sunshine Coast with a median weekly asking rent of less than $400.

The lowest rent on the Sunshine Coast is Bertinha ($550 per unit per week) and Tamborine Mountain on the Gold Coast ($435 per unit per week).

In Brisbane, Russell Island and Macleay Island are the only two neighborhoods with average weekly rents below $400.

On the mainland, the cheapest home rental markets are Darla and Rockley, both at $415 a week and Archerfield ($420).

Beyond the Brisbane area, the cheapest home rental market is Basin Pocket in Ipswich ($335).

In Logan Beaudesert the Green Eagle ($370) and in Moreton Bay the cheapest suburbs are Brendale and Morayfield at $400 a week each.

For units in the Brisbane area, Sandgate is the cheapest at $300 per week, followed by Banyo ($340), Forest Lake ($360), Acacia Ridge ($370), Robertson and Bald Hills ($380).

Elsewhere, the number of homes priced under $400 has fallen to 29.6% in Cairns, 31% in Mackay/Isaac/Whitsundays, 39.2% in Toowoomba and 40.5% in Townsville, taking housing into account. These numbers are then effectively halved.

11 Sentosa Court, Kelso: This 3 bedroom home is listed for $400 per week


By comparison, pre-pandemic availability was between 46.4% (Mackay) and 60.1% (Townsville) in these same regions.

According to PropTrack’s report, “The share of rental properties listed under $400 per week in Brisbane has hit a record low as rental prices continue to soar.

“In rural Queensland, the share of rentals under $400 a week is also at a record low, falling from 49.5% at the start of the pandemic to 21.9% in September 2022.

“As the supply of rental properties continues to be tight, we expect the share of properties under $400 a week to decline further over the next year.”

28 Gordon Ave, Darla: This residence offering two bedrooms is listed for $400 per week


A search on realestate.com.au returned 819 properties listed as “residential” by agents for $400 or less across Queensland.

110 of them were in the Brisbane metropolitan area, but upon closer inspection, many were apartments, including two-bedroom units at Nu Farm ($360) and rooms in shared houses.

A single room in a four-bedroom shared house in Coopers Plains is $190 per week, and a three-bedroom cottage in Clayfield is $400 per week.

In the north, Cairns had only 12 “home” listings under $400, while the Townsville area had 55 active listings.

2/42 Lily Street, Cairns North: This duplex is listed for $380 per week


But Queensland isn’t the only state feeling rent pressure. The report found that the share of properties available for rent under $400 plummeted across the country, dropping to 10.6% in Sydney and 24.4% in Melbourne, down to 9.8% per person. Cents in Hobart and as high as 2.6 per cent in the ACT.

Nationwide, the number of homes under $400 has fallen from 41.8% at the start of the pandemic to just 19.3% today.

Cameron Kusher, director of economic research at Proptrack and author of the report, said the report was “a sober read” for the country as a whole.

“Even places that were once considered affordable are no longer,” he said.

Cameron Kusher, REA Group Executive Manager – Economic Research


For Queensland, Kusher pointed to the pain of record high rental demand, interstate travel, lack of private investment and competition from short-term holiday accommodation.

Demand may start to ease in some areas, but rental pressure cookers are unlikely to boil over anytime soon, he said.

“Ultimately, we need to reduce demand and increase supply,” he said.

“From my point of view, it will probably get worse before it gets better.”

Tenants Queensland CEO Penny Carr said Queensland housing was in a “crisis”.

“Queensland rents increased by an average of $104 a week last year,” she said. “That’s three times her rate of inflation. It’s not fair, it’s not sustainable.

“We are requiring rent increases to be limited to one per year and using the Consumer Price Index (CPI) as a guide for reasonable increases.”

QLD regions where rentals under $400 are not possible

Source link QLD regions where rentals under $400 are not possible

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