Data shows rental market blow out
New data has revealed concerning statistics about Gippsland’s rental market.
In an analysis by Everybody’s Home, a campaign for housing affordability, it was reported that Gippsland has experienced an annual rent increase of 12.3 per cent.
The rental asking price has now increased to $404 per week and the vacancy rate for the region is only 0.78 per cent. According to the data, there are 37,161 rental properties in Gippsland.
Closer to the coast statistics are not much better, with Mornington Peninsula recording an annual rent increase of 14.2 per cent and an asking price of $510 per week.
Everybody’s Home spokesperson Kate Colvin said as mortgage interest rates doubled many landlords would seek to pass the cost on to tenants.
“After a decade of inaction on social and affordable housing from the previous Commonwealth Government we really are in a perfect storm,” she said.
“There are limited options for people who can’t afford to buy but want to stay in their local community.
“Just because you rent, doesn’t mean you haven’t established deep roots in a community. Renters on low and modest incomes work in the local shops and aged care services. They have kids in local schools, are members of sports clubs, and attend local churches. They deserve the same stability as everyone else.”
Everybody’s Home has ranked Gippsland as the fourth most impacted by the state’s rental crisis, and local organisation Quantum Support
Services has reported that the increases are already impacting the lives of many Gippslanders.
Quantum provide support for people across the region in a number of ways, including crisis homelessness support.
Quantum chief executive Natalie McDonald said inner Gippsland has experienced some of the highest rent increases in the state in the past 12 months.
“Our housing options are no longer as readily available or affordable as they were pre-2020 and we predict this is going to continue to worsen in the coming years,” she said.
“Rental increases have had a dramatic impact on renters due to the inability to cover the increase in some cases. In the past 12 months, we have seen people be priced out of the market in Baw Baw due to these large increases.
“Previously, an average rental increase would have been around $15 per week... we are now seeing substantial increases that can top $95 per week.”
Ms McDonald said rental increases impact all areas of people’s lives. She said Quantum has been assisting people who are unable to use heating or cooling due to not being able to afford it, while some people are reducing the amount they eat or prioritising their children’s food needs above their own.
She said the average support period for those experiencing homelessness is much longer due to a lack of medium and long-term housing options.
“Since 2016 the percentage of clients that were successful in private rental upon closure in the Transitional Support Program and the percentage of clients successful for public housing have both declined by about 15 per cent.”
“A sustainable funding stream is needed to add some security for social and affordable housing. It won’t solve homelessness, but it could contribute greatly,” she said.
Similar calls for action have been echoed by other organisations like Everybody’s Home.