Brisbane, Adelaide hit highest yearly rental gains in September

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%.

Median Rent Prices $ - (PropTrack Rental Index - September 2022)

REGION	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
600	600	690	550
Capital Cities	485	520	640

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.

*Your Investment Property - Gerv Tacadena October 2022