Earlier this year, an international affordability report revealed Australia had four of the most unaffordable housing markets in the world. If buying property feels like a pie-in-the-sky dream (we hear you), then renting may be your only option – but scoring an affordable rental in Australia’s capital cities can be just as challenging. Rental prices have been on a steady climb over the past few years, but we’ve got good news. Today, Domain has released its June Quarter Rent Report in partnership with Pepper Money, revealing a widespread slowdown in rental price rises. Intrigued? Read on.
Let’s start with the bad news – rents remain at record highs in every capital city, except for Darwin houses. However, the pace of growth has slowed, with most capital cities either stalling or dropping to multi-year lows. In fact, this is the first time since 2019 that house rents across the combined capitals have remained stable for four consecutive quarters, with unit rents recording their weakest June quarter in four years and slowing annual growth to a 3.5-year low. Domain says this signals “a clear turning point in the rental cycle.”
Domain’s Chief of Research and Economics, Dr Nicola Powell explains, “Cost of living pressures have reached a tipping point. Renters are maxed out and landlords are being forced to hold steady. We’re also seeing a shift in demand – renters are downsizing or choosing units to stretch their budgets, which is why unit rents are now rising faster than houses.”
House rents in Sydney remain stratospherically high compared to the rest of the country. The average weekly rental price for a house in the Harbour City hit a record high of $780 – up just 0.6 per cent or $5 – marking the slowest June quarter growth in four years. In comparison, Perth’s average house rent also rose $5 to $700, while Canberra held steady at $700 – tying for the equal second-highest house rents in Australia. Rent for a house remained unchanged over the past quarter in Brisbane ($650), Adelaide ($620), Melbourne ($580) and Hobart ($570), and even decreased in Darwin from $700 to $650.
Sydney also tops the list for unit rents, with an average of $740 per week – up $15 from last quarter. By comparison, units are currently renting for $620 in Brisbane and Perth, $580 in Canberra, $575 in Melbourne, $560 in Darwin, $523 in Adelaide and $500 in Hobart. You can check out the full report here.