Rental stress felt in and outside house
IT IS a nightmare finding a rental property on the Gold Coast.
As vacancy rates continue to tighten – to 0.4 per cent, according to the REIQ – competition for a place becomes even more fierce.
Stories of up to a 100 groups turning up to inspect a single property are common.
Some people are resorting to extreme measures, such as offering more than the asking price or paying six months’ rent upfront.
Many rentals are being snapped up before they are listed. If you aren’t with a property manager, you could be left hunting for a home for months.
Yet if you think those who are already in a rental are having a better time of it, think again.
A friend, who is renting in a prominent Coast suburb, is due to have an inspection and says she is worried her rent will be hiked.
Ten years ago, a $10 a week price increase was the norm; $20 if your landlord was a real miser. A $50 price increase, however, was unheard of and would have had you packing your stuff pronto.
Landlords needed, and generally valued, good tenants and would reward them by not raising their rent.
My friend admits she has been on a fairly good wicket in her four-bedroom home, given that her rent is about $150 shy of most comparable properties in her suburb.
But the idea of potentially having to accommodate such a big increase is keeping her up at night as she tries to figure out how to rebalance an already stretched household budget, exacerbated further by record-high inflation.
“If our landlord decided to put our rent up and we decide we don’t want to pay that price, they know they could get someone else in to pay it,” she says. “We are good tenants and our real estate likes us, but it is really stressful.
“Even if our rent was put up by $100, it would still be a big hit. We may not be able to afford it. My worry is that if we have to leave here, we would have to go into a townhouse and we would be paying as much as we are now for a smaller place.”
PropTrack’s March rental report showed an 18 per cent jump in rents on the Gold Coast year-on-year – the biggest increase across the state.
“Renting remains a tough proposition for many people across the country, with the strong demand and limited supply meaning properties are renting quickly and rental rates are rising,” PropTrack’s director of economic research, Cameron Kusher, says.
And it looks unlikely that significant relief is on the way.
“In fact, with international borders reopened and migration recommencing, we are anticipating a further tightening of rental supply, which is likely to lead to further increases in rental rates.”
RentRabbit.com.au cofounder Ben Pretty said: “It’s definitely a landlord’s market in many parts of the country, and I’ve been hearing some really harrowing stories of tenants doing it hard, especially families on lower incomes.” The median weekly rent for a house on the Gold Coast is $650, and $520 for a unit.
A quick search on realestate.com.au reveals how unlikely you are to find a house for less than $650 a week.
A four-bedroom house in Upper Coomera is advertised at $690 per week, while in Pimpama, $580 gets you a four-bedroom home.
Further south in Pacific Pines, you’ll pay $740 a week for a four-bedroom house and $900 for a home in Robina or Elanora.