Howdy there all you avocado toast eaters and homeowners, how’s it going? It’s time to make your wallet hurt, ’cause the Aussie suburbs where rent has increased the most in the last year have been revealed, and the list is tempting me to move back in with the ‘rents.
According to the Sydney Morning Herald, who spoke with Domain’s Chief of Research and Economics Dr Nicola Powell, we can now safely look back at the year that was and discover some pretty nifty stats around rent increase in Australia.
2021 may have kicked your ass, but it also kicked the asses of every wallet in the nation. Love to see that the boot is ubiquitous. No ass spared.
“When you look at the top 10 areas for rent increases, it’s all either coastal holiday areas or resource towns,” Powell told the SMH.
“I think this is the time they’ll be showing their biggest increases too, as it’s the big change over time in rental properties for the holiday season, so they’ll be at a real pressure point.”
Alright, no more dawdling, you came to see which suburbs got a rather nasty rent increase over the course of a single year. And no, Vaucluse is not number one, but it sure does make an appearance.
Suburbs are shown in order of lowest increase to highest.
1. Bundall, QLD
More like a Bundall of rent payments, amirite? With a median rent of $895 (ouch), Bundall and its sunny beachside properties have reportedly faced a 37.7% increase in rent from last year.
Yep, it only goes up from here, so buckle your seatbelts and thank the Gods for your $300 a week sharehouse in Stanmore, binches.
2. West Gladstone, QLD
Ahhh, good old West Gladstone. Do I know a thing about this suburb? Only that she’s one of those aforementioned resource towns, looks pretty and costs a nickel or two to live in.
The median rent of WG is a rather comfortable $250, but this number has increased by 38.9% from last year, which makes it ninth on our list.
With more and more Aussies taking note of this Queensland locale, there’s no doubt going to be a surge in rental prices too.
3. Port Hedland, WA
With an average rent of $851, Port Hedland has faced an increase in prices across the board of about 41.6%.
Well, when you’re known for being the biggest exporter for an entire inland iron ore mine, you’re bound to see prices skyrocket through the roof.
I’m in iron awe of whoever can comfortably afford to live here.
4. Queenstown, TAS
Okay, I know the pic is of Nelson Falls, but that’s one of the main reasons tourism is so big in Queenstown. So, enjoy the pretty waterfall and keep the comment fingers behind your back.
The median cost of rent in Queenstown is a lovely $250, but this has increased drastically in a year’s time, going up by 42.9%.
“People have had enough of lockdown in the cities and, until our border opened, we were coronavirus-free,” Harcourts West Coast agent Rodney Triffett told the SMH.
“We’ve had so much demand for properties and very low stock, which has been pushing rents higher and higher.”
5. Double Bay, NSW
Get Mr Monopoly on the phone, because Double Bay is one of those suburbs we mere mortals can only live in when we have COVID-fuelled fever dreams.
The average rent of this ultra-bougie suburb is currently a heaping $2000, a 42.9% increase on from last year.
If you’re reading this from Double Bay, please adopt me.
6. Vaucluse, NSW
As a young child, I would often look into the horizon like Simba and think of going to shadowlands where the light never shines.
But alas, I was in western Sydney’s Greystanes, and I couldn’t even see the wickedly wealthy land of Vaucluse from where I was. Hell, we couldn’t even afford hills in my home suburb.
This ridiculously elite paradise has a median rent of $2900, which is approximately what I’m worth if you liquidate all of my assets.
However, this price has increased by 45% from last year, which is fun news for me, because it means the rich are just forking out more dollarydoos to live in their little slice of heaven.
7. South Hedland, WA
Iron ore hubs will forever keep on iron oreing (sp?), and with that comes a bunch of Aussies who wanna rent or buy in the area to live close to work.
South Hedland has a median rental price of $588, which is a 47.0% increase from last year.
The pandemic may have stopped the world, but it can’t touch the ever-growing behemoth that is rental prices.
8. Mount Coolum, QLD
Come for the beach and stay for the be $750ach, because Mount Coolum is a lovely little spot to catch a heap of sunshine.
However, you might not want to get into the renting game right now, as there’s been a big ol’ increase in prices.
The average rent in Mount Coolum is around $750, and the suburb has experienced a 47.1% increase in rent over a year. This makes it only marginally worse than South Hedland, but every decimal matters.
9. Broulee, NSW
I mean, have you been to Broulee? It’s far from bougie but the beach is fkn incredible, and I thoroughly recommend it to anyone with a spare sunny weekend in NSW.
If you have a relo that owns property in Broulee, just understand that you probably come from old money. That, or they’re just super loaded and not telling you everything.
The average renting cost in Broulee is $750, which has faced a 50% increase from last year. Makes sense, I mean everyone is catching onto how hot Broulee is. I wonder why.
10. Crescent Head, NSW
The most expensive head in NSW, with an average rental cost of $680, which is an increase of 54.5% from last year. Yep, you read that right. Crescent Head never used to be this pricey, but here we are.
“We’ve just had so many people coming here to live now, both renting and buying,” Nathan Wilson from Elders Real Estate Crescent Head told the SMH.
“It’s been crazy. Many of those people have been coming here for their holidays for years or have just discovered it.
“A lot of them have realised they can work remotely, so they can live here in a beautiful place with eateries and the kind of facilities a small town has. Fortunately for the locals, who often rent for years at a time, property-owners have tended to honour their commitments and haven’t put their rents up to market prices.”
