Rents on rise in 20 suburbs
NEW figures released by PropTrack on Friday highlight the increasing pressure in Hobart’s rental property market.
Year-on-year growth in all of Hobart’s top 20 house rent suburbs was in double-digits, with the smallest median price change in West Moonah at 10.88 per cent.
Taroona, Mount Nelson and Geilston Bay rents climbed by more than 20 per cent in the past 12 months, while prices at Warrane, Herdsmans Cove, Midway Point, Lutana and Glebe all recorded at least a 15 per cent increase.
The largest change was at Sandford (41.3 per cent), but that was across just 11 leased properties.
The biggest shifts in the unit market were in New Norfolk (27.68 per cent), West Moonah (20.86 per cent),
Bridgewater (20.83 per cent), Geilston Bay (15 per cent) and Midway Point (14.93 per cent).
PropTrack’s director of economic research, Cameron Kusher, said rents had risen 9.5 per cent in Hobart over the past year, higher than the national average.
“However, growth is starting to slow as the supply of rental stock increases,” he said.
“The total rental listings in Hobart in June were 4.1 per cent higher than they were a year ago.
“Properties are leasing faster than a year ago, falling from 19 days to 16 days.”
TasCOSS chief executive Adrienne Picone said that for Tasmanians on low incomes, the proportion of rent as a share of total wages had risen to “unliveable levels”.
She said this affected the ability for people to afford basics
including buying food, healthcare and travel to school and work.
“Hobart is the most unaffordable capital city in the country,” Ms Picone said.
“Tasmanians on low incomes have little hope of securing a private rental. Many have joined the social housing wait list due to lack of alternatives.”
The latest vacancy rate figures from SQM Research have Hobart at a tight 0.6 per cent, up from 0.3 per cent in January, but well below a healthy threshold.
Mr Kusher described the
market as “extremely tight”, with many people looking for rental properties at a time in which the supply remains insufficient.
“The ultimate solution to the tightness of the rental market is more rental properties,’’ he said. “Increased investor purchasing is addressing this, but it will take some time to ease the existing pressure.
“Governments continue to offer incentives to first-home buyers. With property prices falling or slowing and rents rising, this may encourage some to move from renting to ownership.”