Australian rents soar to record highs as housing crisis bites
The humble share house is back on the table as renters wrestle with rising rental costs
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National median rents for Australians have reached record highs, CoreLogic data shows.
The median rent rose to $601 per week in December, or $31,252 a year, and increase of more than $160 since August 2020.
Average rent growths were 9.1 percent over the past three calendar years compared with 2 percent in the 2010s. Sydney recorded the highest median rent at $745 per week, while Hobart was the lowest at $535. Hobart recorded a -3.5 percent drop in median rents. Along with Canberra, which fell -1.9 percent, they were the only markets to experience a decline.
Author of the Rental Market Update and head of research Australia at CoreLogic, Eliza Owen, said factors such as an upswing in migration numbers since 2022 and the overall decline in the average size of households were contributing factors to the rise in prices.
It noted that the reduction in available social housing had placed further pressure on the private rental market, especially at the lower end.
While the figures are alarming to renters, the report noted that the rate of growth has slowed compared with recent years. Last year, rent values rose 8.3 percent, down from 9.6 percent in the year to September 2022. The contrast is even greater in regional areas where rents increased by 4.3 percent last year compared with 13.4 percent in the year to August 2021.
“The easing in rent growth is good news with regard to inflation, but there was a slight pick-up in annual growth once again in the final quarter of 2023,” Ms Owen said in the report. “This ‘re-acceleration’ in rents was most consistent across the capital city house markets, but was also evident in regional rent markets.”
However, she said cost of living pressures were causing some renters to re-think household arrangements.
“As noted in previous quarters, part of the explanation for an uptick in house rent growth may be in part due to households re-grouping into share houses,” Ms Owen said. “Additionally, the premium of house rents over units has narrowed in the past two years, from $63 per week at the median level to $38.
“This ‘catch up’ in unit rents could be making them less appealing, diverting tenants back to houses.”
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Ray White senior data analyst Atom Go Tian says Sydney’s elite postcodes are pulling further ahead, with Bellevue Hill dominating the nation’s most expensive streets in 2025.
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Sydney has cemented its status as the nation’s luxury capital, with Kambala Road in Bellevue Hill being Australia’s most expensive street this year, posting a median house price of $39.35 million.
And, according to Ray White senior data analyst Atom Go Tian, last year’s leader, Wolseley Road, was excluded from this year’s rankings due to limited sales.
“Wolseley Road recorded only three sales this year and was therefore excluded from the rankings, though its $51.5 million median would have otherwise retained the top position,” he says.
Bellevue Hill continues its dominance, accounting for six of the nation’s top 10 streets. Tian says the suburb’s appeal lies in its rare blend of location and lifestyle advantages.
“The suburb’s enduring appeal lies in its rare combination of proximity to both the CBD and multiple beaches, harbour views, and large estate-sized blocks on tree-lined streets.”
Vaucluse remains a powerhouse in its own right. “Vaucluse extends this harbourside premium with even more direct beach access and panoramic water views,” he says.
The gulf between Sydney and the rest of the country remains striking.
According to Tian, “Sydney’s most expensive streets are more than five times more expensive than the leading streets in Perth and Brisbane, and more than 10 times the premium streets in Canberra and Adelaide.”
He attributes this to Sydney’s economic role and geographic constraints, describing it as “Australia’s financial capital and its most internationally connected city.”
Beyond Sydney, each capital city has developed its own luxury hierarchy. Tian highlights Melbourne’s stronghold in Toorak, noting that “Melbourne’s luxury market remains centred around Toorak, led by Clendon Road, St Georges Road and Linlithgow Road.”
Brisbane’s prestige pockets are more dispersed: “Brisbane’s luxury real estate shows a more diverse pattern,” he says, led by Laidlaw Parade at $6.5 million. Perth’s top-end market remains anchored in the Peppermint Grove–Dalkeith corridor, with Forrest Street at $7.5 million.
He also points to the stark contrast at the lower end of the spectrum. “Darwin presents a mirror image, hosting all 10 of the country’s cheapest streets,” Tian says. Austin Street in Southport sits at just $117,500.
The national spread reaches its extreme in New South Wales. “Sydney emerges as the most polarised market, spanning an extraordinary range from Railway Parade in Katoomba at $385,000 to Kambala Road’s $39.35 million,” Tian says.
Methodology: Tian’s analysis examines residential house sales between November 2022 and November 2025, with only streets recording at least five sales included. Several streets with higher medians, including Black Street, Queens Avenue and Clairvaux Road in Vaucluse, were excluded because they did not meet the sales threshold.
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