Property rentals increase by 15 per cent per year

Rental growth has struggled to keep pace with the strong property value growth being witnessed over recent years, according to property market analysts.

RP Data senior research analyst Cameron Kusher said an unprecedented demand for rental properties coupled with ongoing housing shortages has led to rents increasing by 15 per cent each year.

“Value growth has now slowed nationwide and rental rates have been rising due to extreme shortages of rental properties, relative to demand,” he said.

RP Data’s Property Pulse, which locates the most affordable suburbs to rent within 20 kilometres of a city’s centre, found the cheapest median house rent of $140 per week was in the Adelaide suburb of Devon Park, which is just 4 kilometres from the city centre. In Brisbane it was $260 per week at Carole Park, while in Sydney, located 15 kilometres from the city, it was Wiley Park at $240 per week.

In Melbourne, the suburbs of Laverton and Albanvale, both approximately 18 kilometres from the city, each recorded median rents of $220 per week, while in Canberra it was located 9 kilometres from the city centre in the suburb of Holder.

The cheapest median house rent in Perth was in the suburb of Midvale, 18 kilometres from Perth.

Kusher said RP Data’s rental analysis presented some encouraging results.

“You would expect the most affordable rental properties to be located right on the 20 kilometre radius from the CBD and within suburbs with poor transport infrastructure, but this isn’t the necessarily the case,” Kusher said.

“Investors looking for the best investment opportunities should target these strategically located properties as renters will always be attracted to areas with quality transport facilities, major shopping centres and working nodes.”