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National Rental Market Update | October 2018 - featured image
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By Leanne Jopson
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National Rental Market Update | October 2018

Which Aussie capital saw the most significant rises and falls in median rents month-on-month?

Rent.com.au has released its latest report for October 2018 based on property leasing data.

The report illustrates the shift in Australian median rental property prices (both metro and regional) rental affordability and days on market.

Monthly Highlights: For Rent

  • 3 of the biggest states were stable in October – no change in median house rents month-on-month.
  • The national median house rent climbed 1.1% to $440/week in October.
  • Brisbane metro was the only capital city to see no change in either house or apartment rents.
  • The sharpest price increase was in Hobart where apartment rents rose 11.4% month-on-month.
  • The price of rooms remained most expensive in the Sydney rental market, unchanged from September.
How the states and territories compared in October 2018
Median rent (apartments v houses) and price per room
SOURCE: RENT.COM.AU © 2018
Metro area Apartments % change Houses % change Price per room % change
SYDNEY $530 ↓1.9% $600 0% $275 0%
MELBOURNE $415 ↑1.2% $430 ↑2.4% $176 ↑1.7%
BRISBANE $400 0% $420 0% $160 ↑3.2%
PERTH $323 ↑0.9% $365 0% $125 0%
ADELAIDE $305 ↓1.6% $370 ↑1.4% $131 ↓3.6%
HOBART $367 ↑11.4% $430 ↑2.4% $155 ↑3.3%
DARWIN $350 0% $500 ↑11.1% $150 0%
CANBERRA $450 0% $540 ↓1.8% $204 ↑2%
National median $450 0% $440 1.1% $190 1.3%

Price trends

Median rents.

As we take a look across Australia’s rental market in October, it’s clear that while house prices have fallen, rental growth has been sluggish, and rents have fallen a little in Sydney.

Rent.com.au Chief Executive Greg Bader said:  

“The country’s rental market is pretty fragmented with a bit growth in some regions, no growth in others and then falling rents in some. This has been driven by local factors including job growth and population growth, as well as consumer confidence and supply and demand.”

“Another sign of slowdown in Sydney is the increased length of time it took to lease an apartment/house in October, which increased relative to a year ago (23% longer – apartments, 22% longer for houses),” he said.

“That increased time on market also ties in with the fact that there are more listings on Rent.com.au in Sydney than there was last year – there were 12.9% more apartments advertised for rent in Sydney than in October 2017, and 3.9% more houses.”

The latest rental data found that the sharpest increase in median rents was in Hobart, where apartment rents jumped up 11.4% month-on-month. The Tasmanian capital’s median rent (apartments) is now $367/week, against $430/week (houses).

Price per room. rent property

The cost of renting a room in Australia increased year-on-year in October, with the most noticeable change in house rents.

The national median for houses in Australia’s metro areas was $147/week in October, up 7.2% from 12 months back.

Across the state and territory capitals, the biggest jump was in Hobart apartment room prices, a 11.7% rise year-on-year with rooms now priced at $181/week.

National apartment prices recorded less of a difference but still jumped 5.7%.

In October, the cheapest room for renters could be found in a Perth or Adelaide house – just $120/week.

Price per room year-on-year: Apartments v Houses
SOURCE: RENT.COM.AU © 2018
Metro area Apartments % change from OCT  2017 Houses % change from
OCT  2017
SYDNEY $337 ↑3.8% $200 0%
MELBOURNE $260 ↑8.3% $140 ↑5%
BRISBANE $236 ↑6.1% $133 ↑1.2%
PERTH $182 ↓1.3% $120 ↑9.7%
ADELAIDE $150 0% $120 0%
HOBART $181 ↑11.7% $153 ↑0.5%
DARWIN $165 ↓5.7% $146 ↓2.2%
CANBERRA $295 ↑1.1% $173 ↑4%
National median $275 5.7% $147 7.2%

Regional rents.

Median rents across Australia’s regional areas remained mostly stable in October, with no change in the median rent of $365 nationally.

In October, most states and territories saw a jump month-on-month: Victoria (up 3.3%), Western Australia (up 3%), South Australia (up 1.9%) Tasmania (up 3.4%) and Northern Territory (up 7.1%), while prices only jumped in Queensland (up 1.3%). SA recorded the cheapest regional rent prices – a median of just $270 a week.

Regional Rents
% change between September 2018 and October 2018
SOURCE: RENT.COM.AU © 2018
State/Territory September 2018 October 2018 % change
NSW $400 $400 0%
VIC $295 $300 ↑3.4%
QLD $370 $370 0%
WA $330 $340 ↑3%
SA $265 $270 ↑1.9%
TAS $290 $300 ↑3.4%
NT $420 $450 ↑7.1%
ACT unavail. unavail. unavail.
National median $365 $365 0%

Days on market.

The most noticeable shift month-on-month was in Darwin apartments, which slowed by 25% to take 44 days on average to come off market.

Hobart apartments, however came off market 10% faster in October to take an average of 12 days to lease.

Compared to a year ago, Sydney apartments shifted 23% faster in October – perhaps indicative of the flattening taking place in the NSW capital’s housing market.

Leanne Jopson Thumb2
About Leanne Jopson Leanne is National Director of Property Management at Metropole and a Property Professional in every sense of the word. With 20 years' experience in real estate, Leanne brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to maximise returns and minimise stress for their clients.
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