PropTrack’s Rental Affordability Report found that “Australia’s rental affordability is at its worst level on record”.
PropTrack found that “households earning the median income of roughly $111,000 can afford to rent the smallest share of properties since 2008 when records began, driven by surging rents in recent years”.
PropTrack also found that median rental prices had surged by 38% across the country since the pandemic:
PropTrack has released more data showing that the share of rental properties available for under $400 a week halving over the past year across the combined capital cities:
Only 5.9% of city property rentals now cost less than $400 a week, down from 10.6% last year and 37.1% at the beginning of the pandemic.
“Affordable rental options are vanishing across the country, with the number of rental properties available for under $400 a week hitting a new record low in April”, noted PropTrack senior economist Paul Ryan.
“Near record-low vacancy rates, reflecting strong demand and limited new supply, has created exceptionally challenging conditions for renters. This is particularly problematic for lower income households for whom almost no rental properties are affordable, highlighting the critical need for an increase in the supply of housing”.
“Without any meaningful action to improve rental supply we can expect to see this trend remain and price increases endure”, noted Ryan.
As usual, Paul Ryan has diagnosed the problem as a supply issue, rather than an excess demand issue caused by unprecedented net overseas migration.
Yet, the data clearly shows that this surge in population demand is the primary cause of Australia’s rental inflation:
Given that dwelling construction is unlikely to rebound anytime soon amid high interest rates, high material costs, and labour shortages, the only viable solution to easing Australia’s rental crisis is to slash immigration.
Australia’s net overseas migration must be lowered to a level below the nation’s capacity to build housing and infrastructure.
Otherwise, the rental situation will continue to deteriorate.
