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Rent prices remained on the rise across most Australian markets but have grown the fastest in Brisbane for houses and in Adelaide for units.

PropTrack’s Rental Index showed a 4.3% increase in dwelling rents across Australia over the September quarter, the highest so far on record. Median dwelling rent, which combines the median rent for houses and units, were at $480 during the quarter.

On a yearly basis, advertised dwelling rents increased by 10.3%, with Brisbane reporting the biggest gain for houses at 16.7% and Adelaide recording the largest growth for units at 11.4%.

PropTrack Rental Index – September 2022

Region

Median Rent Prices ($)

Dwelling

House

Unit

Sydney

550

640

520

Melbourne

440

460

420

Brisbane

485

525

430

Adelaide

450

480

390

Perth

460

495

420

Hobart

500

540

450

Darwin

550

620

500

ACT

600

690

550

Capital Cities

485

520

460

Rest of NSW

480

500

420

Rest of Vic

400

420

330

Rest of Qld

480

500

435

Rest of SA

310

320

235

Rest of WA

450

480

385

Rest of Tas

400

420

350

Rest of NT

480

550

400

Regional Areas

450

470

400

NATIONAL

480

500

450

Rental pressures were most prevalent in regional Western Australia and Adelaide for houses and in Sydney and Melbourne for units.

Meanwhile, regional South Australia witnessed the most significant slowdown in rents for both housing segments as demand waned.

Still, PropTrack director for economic research Cameron Kusher said the limited supply of rental homes is affording landlords with scope to increase weekly rents.

“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,” he said.

“Capital cities are expected to see the lion’s share of growth as demand and subsequent rental price growth softens in the regions.”

While rents posted stronger quarterly figures, growth appears to be weakening on a monthly basis. 

In fact, CoreLogic’s national rental index posted a growth of 0.6% in September, the lowest monthly rise in rents since December 2021.

Since the rental growth peak in May 2022, the monthly pace of gains has been easing, a phenomenon that is most apparent across regional markets.

CoreLogic research director Tim Lawless said the slowdown in rental growth is surprising, especially given the sustained decline in vacancy rates.

“A gradual slowdown in rental growth in the face of such low vacancy rates could be an early sign that renters are reaching an affordability ceiling,” he said.

Photo credits:

  • Adelaide: Tourism Australia on Canva
  • Brisbane: Ignacio Ravelo from Pexels