Priciest suburbs to find a room

AHOBART Eastern Shore suburb has been revealed as the most expensive spot to rent a room. New data from Flatmates.com.au shows the median weekly room price in Howrah is $260 per week, closely followed by Lenah Valley, New Town, West Hobart and Sandy Bay, areas where single rooms cost between $220 and $240.

The next five most expensive suburbs to rent a room were priced between $190 and $210 — Hobart, Glenorchy, South Hobart, Battery Point and Moonah.

These figures come on the back of a new Flatmates survey of 9000 respondents that showed penny pinching is becoming more prominent.

More than half (57 per cent) of survey respondents currently live in share accommodation for financial reasons, with one in 10 subscribing to the co-living concept due to tight competition for solo rentals.

Navigating challenges from the rising cost of living has proved testing for many share houses, with 45 per cent reporting that their rent increased in the past six months.

Of those who experienced a rent increase, more than half said the increase was more than expected, with a similar proportion citing inflation as the reason behind the rise.

As a result, almost one in two said that they and their flatmates are now struggling to pay rent.

While finances are a pain point for many, flatmates are getting creative to keep costs down.

About two-thirds (62 per cent) of respondents said they have introduced new house rules to help save costs including cooking meals together, establishing rules for heater usage and working or studying away from home to keep bills low.

Flatmates community manager, Claudia Conley, said “more space” tops the list of requirements for those reassessing who they want to live with and where.

“A large proportion of the Flatmates.com.au community live in share accommodation due to financial reasons, and current market pressures and the rising cost of living are taking a toll,” she said.

“Facing these pressures, we’ve seen share houses work together to navigate higher rents and costs, whether that means finding new ways to save money or looking for cheaper rooms to rent.”

The survey also found that the face of share house living is evolving as rising costs and tight rental market conditions see people from all walks of life rent a room.

Room seekers between 65 and 74 years old are the fastest growing demographic in Australian share houses, seeing an increase of 25 per cent over the five years to 2021, according to the 2021 Census.

Ms Conley said share houses today come in all shapes and sizes.

“Typical university share houses aren’t dominating the market like they used to,” she said. “Companionship and an additional income stream are increasingly popular reasons landlords opt into share house living.

“With the rising cost of living and limited rental stock, we are seeing the number of diverse share houses full of families, single parents, elderly sharers, migrants and empty nesters continue to grow.”