Rental strain hitting home
RENTAL stress is plaguing Gold Coast tenants, with more than 37,000 households across five electorates under financial pressure, new data reveals.
The University of NSW analysis for national housing campaign Everybody’s Home found South East Queensland was one of the worst areas for rental stress across Australia.
This is defined as households spending more than 30 per cent of their income on housing costs.
Five of Queensland’s top 10 electorates for housing stress were located on the Gold Coast, with renters in Moncrieff finding it the hardest.
In the electorate, 40 per cent of tenants are under rental stress – that’s more than 10,600 households. The area was ranked ninth nationally.
McPherson was fifth on the state’s list, with 7181 households, or 39 per cent of renters, struggling with rental costs.
Fadden, Forde and Wright also featured in the top 10, each with more than 35 per cent of tenants under financial strain.
Everybody’s Home national spokeswoman Kate Colvin said housing affordability wasn’t just an inner Melbourne and Sydney issue and called on the Government to stop neglecting Queensland.
“The narrow focus on real estate prices for young homebuyers means that almost 190,000 Queensland households in rental stress are being forgotten by governments at all levels,” Ms Colvin said.
“Underinvestment in social housing, increasing rents and low wage growth mean that low income earners and middle WORST RENTAL
STRESS IN QLD Electorate Homes
1. Hinkler ............................... 7166
2. Moncrieff ...................... 10,638
3. Longman .......................... 7352
4. Wide Bay .......................... 5979
5. McPherson ........................ 7181
6. Fisher ................................ 6381
7. Fadden ............................ 8846
8. Fairfax .............................. 6763
9. Forde .............................. 6784
10. Wright ............................. 3719
(Source: University of NSW)
income earners are struggling right across the country.”
The latest Real Estate Institute Queensland report revealed regional rental markets were more volatile, with the Gold Coast much softer.
Vacancy rates have gone up 0.2 per cent to 1.8 per cent from the December quarter.
REIQ director John Newlands said Gold Coast tenants could soon have some relief from high rents.
“We are starting to see the vacancy rates increase ever so slightly and as a result rent prices will stabilise, if not come back … which will help the situation,” Mr Newlands said.
But Mr Newlands said if Labor were elected and negative gearing on existing dwellings abolished it would be detrimental to the Gold Coast and rents would rise again.
Q Shelter’s Fiona Caniglia said Queensland had eight of the 20 electorates in the country with the highest number of renters under housing stress.
“If (federal election) candidates are serious about addressing costs of living, then they have to answer what they are going to do to address chronic rental stress,” she said.