Cheapest Capital City Suburbs To Rent Today
Australia is in the midst of a rental crisis, with weekly rents rising 30% over 38 consecutive months
3 min
It costs a median $616 per week to rent a property across Australia’s combined capital cities, with rents rising 10% over the past 12 months alone, according to new CoreLogic data. The cost is lower across the combined regions a median of $507 per week, up 4.1% over the past year.
Rents across Australia have risen by 30% over 38 consecutive months, adding $137 per week to the median cost of renting. The number of properties being advertised for rent fell to its lowest level in more than 10 years during the September quarter. A rental vacancy rate of 3% is considered a balanced market but rates are now at record lows of 1% in the capitals and 1.2% in the regions.
CoreLogic Economist Kaytlin Ezzy said record high net overseas migration and an estimated shortfall of 47,500 rental homes were pushing rental values higher. However, she noted that the pace of rental growth is starting to slow, with national rents rising 1.6% in the September quarter compared to 2.2% in the June quarter, as renters hit an affordability ceiling.
Ms Ezzy said more renters were banding together to form larger households to share the burdensome cost – a trend that is creating stronger demand for rental houses, in particular. “There is already some evidence that a structural change in household formation, coupled with worsening affordability in the unit sector, has shifted some rental demand back in favour of the low-density sector,” Ms Ezzy said. “National house rents are now rising faster than unit rents … reversing the trend seen through much of 2022 and the first half of 2023.”
CoreLogic has published a report revealing the cheapest suburbs to rent in within a 20km radius of capital city CBDs. The list below shows the current median weekly rent in each suburb.
Cheapest rents within 20km of CBDs
Sydney houses
Auburn $648 pw
South Granville $657 pw
Granville $673 pw
Regents Park $675 pw
Sefton $676 pw
Sydney apartments
Berala $486 pw
Wiley Park $491 pw
Punchbowl $498 pw
Lakemba $501 pw
Regents Park $509 pw
Melbourne houses
Albanvale $441 pw
Laverton $441 pw
Broadmeadows $441 pw
Kings Park $442 pw
Ardeer $443 pw
Melbourne apartments
Albion $366 pw
St Albans $398 pw
Deer Park $406 pw
Kingsville $411 pw
Thomastown $420 pw
Brisbane houses
Woodridge $501 pw
Inala $503 pw
Ellen Grove $523 pw
Darra $526 pw
Rocklea $544 pw
Brisbane apartments
Woodridge $352 pw
Rochedale South $436 pw
Strathpine $446 pw
Brendale $459 pw
Alexandra Hills $468 pw
Adelaide houses
Salisbury $473 pw
Braham Lodge $475 pw
Salisbury Downs $478 pw
Paralowie $498 pw
Taperoo $502 pw
Adelaide apartments
Salisbury East $361 pw
Salisbury $378 pw
Kilburn $397 pw
Klemzig $402 pw
St Marys $403 pw
Perth houses
Girrawheen $491 pw
Gosnells $501 pw
Midland $503 pw
Middle Swan $518 pw
Koondoola $519 pw
Perth apartments
Midland $433 pw
Gosnells $441 pw
Noranda $445 pw
Hamilton Hill $457 pw
Coolbellup $462 pw
Hobart houses
Bridgewater $485 pw
Midway Point $501 pw
Chigwell $501 pw
Claremont $509 pw
Berridale $516 pw
Hobart apartments
Claremont $411 pw
West Moonah $422 pw
Glenorchy $431 pw
Lindisfarne $456 pw
New Town $463 pw
Canberra houses
Higgins $597 pw
Scullin $598 pw
Page $599 pw
Charnwood $599 pw
Holt $599 pw
Canberra apartments
Lyons $468 pw
Chifley $494 pw
Hawker $501 pw
Mawson $528 pw
Gungahlin $529 pw
Darwin houses
Moulden $539 pw
Gray $549 pw
Driver $564 pw
Woodroffe $587 pw
Bakewell $591 pw
Darwin apartments
Bakewell $457 pw
Leanyer $468 pw
Coconut Grove $475 pw
Millner $478 pw
Rapid Creek $494 pw
Rising rates, construction inflation and shrinking investor confidence are pushing Australia deeper into a dangerous housing spiral that monetary policy alone cannot fix.
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Rising rates, construction inflation and shrinking investor confidence are pushing Australia deeper into a dangerous housing spiral that monetary policy alone cannot fix.
2 minThe Reserve Bank had little choice but to raise interest rates again this week.
Inflation was already proving stubborn before the latest Middle East instability added further pressure to energy prices and supply chains.
Housing inflation alone has averaged six per cent over the past year, remaining one of the single biggest contributors to CPI.
But while the focus remains on rates, the deeper problem is structural and far more dangerous.
Australia is not building enough homes, and the conditions required to fix that are deteriorating simultaneously.
Construction costs remain elevated. Builders are increasingly unwilling to absorb contract risk. Labour shortages persist.
Capital is becoming more expensive. And as borrowing capacity weakens and sentiment softens, fewer projects are becoming financially viable.
The result is a self-reinforcing cycle.
The RBA raises rates to fight inflation. Higher rates reduce development feasibility. Fewer projects start. Housing supply tightens further. Rents rise. Inflation persists. The RBA raises rates again.
The only long-term solution is supply, yet Australia remains nowhere near the National Housing Accord target of 240,000 new dwellings a year.
Completion continues to lag approvals, meaning many projects approved on paper are simply never making it out of the ground.
That gap matters enormously because housing is not just another sector of the economy.
Around two-thirds of Australian household wealth is tied to property, while the sector underpins millions of jobs and related industries. Weakness here quickly spreads beyond real estate.
We are already seeing signs of stress. Auction clearance rates in Sydney and Melbourne have softened, borrowing capacity has declined, and parts of the market are experiencing price corrections as confidence weakens.
At the same time, policymakers continue to debate tax measures such as changes to negative gearing and capital gains tax discounts, despite fears that such reforms could drive private capital out of the rental market at precisely the moment when supply is most constrained.
This is the paradox at the centre of Australia’s housing crisis.
Demand for property remains extraordinarily high, yet the economic conditions required to actually build new housing are worsening.
The Reserve Bank cannot solve that problem alone.
Monetary policy cannot accelerate planning approvals, reduce construction costs or create more tradies. It can only raise the cost of money until something eventually breaks.
And increasingly, that “something” looks like the development pipeline itself.
Paul Miron is the Co-Founder & Fund Manager of Msquared Capital.
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