Rents have risen at the fastest quarterly pace on record, soaring 4.3 per cent nationally in the three months to September.
The latest PropTrack Market Insight report shows the national median weekly rent for all homes is $480, which is 10.3 per cent higher than it was a year ago.
It is also the largest annual rise on record.
Nationally, the median rent for houses is up 11.1 per cent year-on-year to $500 a week, while the median unit rent is $470 per week, or 7.1 per cent higher than a year ago.
PropTrack Director Economic Research and report author Cameron Kusher said rental prices in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane all experienced the fastest year-on-year growth on record for all dwellings.
In Sydney the median rent of a dwelling is $550 per week, in Melbourne it is $440 per week and in Brisbane the median weekly rent is $485 per week.
“Rents are rising due to the ongoing low volume of stock available for rent and the strong demand for rental accommodation, which is affording landlords with scope to increase weekly rents,” he said.
“Rental pressures over the quarter were most prevalent for houses in regional WA and Adelaide and strongest for units in Sydney and Melbourne.
“Regional SA houses and units recorded the greatest softening of rents as demand for rentals outside of Adelaide eases.
“With the supply of rental stock remaining extremely tight and migration to Australia lifting, we anticipate rents to continue to rise over the coming quarters.
“Capital cities are expected to see the lion’s share of growth as demand and subsequent rental price growth softens in the regions.”
The report also showed that capital city rents rose 3.2 per cent quarter-on-quarter and were 7.8 per cent higher year-on-year, while regional rents were unchanged in the September quarter and 12.5 per cent higher year-on-year.
The gap between national house and unit rents remained at $50 over the quarter but it is still at the widest differential on record.
Over the past year, rents for four-bedroom houses grew the most at 12 per cent, followed by five-plus bedroom houses at 11.4 per cent, and one-bedroom units at 11.1 per cent.
Canberra is the most expensive capital city to rent a house in, with a median rent of $690 per week, followed by Sydney at $640 per week.
It’s the same for units, with the ACT recording a median weekly rent of $550, closely followed by Sydney units at $520 per week.
Melbourne is the cheapest capital to rent a house in, with a median rent of $460 per week, while it is most cost effective to rent a unit in Adelaide, where the median weekly rent is $390.
