Rents actually fall in the capital

Although rents have risen in much of the country, hundreds of suburbs in the Australian capital still have rents lower than a year ago.

The latest PropTrack data shows that rents across Australia are more than last year’s rent, while the national median rent has risen by 5% to $630 over the past 12 months.

Renters in Brisbane and Adelaide sold the biggest rent gains, with rents up more than 8%, while rents in Sydney, Melbourne and Perth rose 4% to 5%.

Rea Group senior economist Anne Flaherty said rent growth has accelerated this year, but rents are not as fast as the peak of the rental crisis.

“In the first three months of 2025, rents have risen, reversing the trend of slowing rent growth at the end of last year,” Ms. Flahti said.

“Nevertheless, rent growth is still well below its peak levels in 2022 and 2023.”

Data shows that the rent gap between Australia’s two largest cities is large, Sydney is still the most expensive, with median rents of $750 per week, while Melbourne is Melbourne, with rents of $575 per week in the second cheapest city.

“A renter in Sydney is usually paying $9,100 a year in rent compared to Melbourne,” Ms Flaherty said.

Rent is cheaper than last year

While rents across Australia are getting faster, suburban-level data involving the 12-month suburbs at the end of February this year show that rents have fallen or remain the same in hundreds of suburbs in the capital.

House rents fell or remained flat in 264 suburbs in the capital, while unit rents fell or remained unchanged in 142 suburbs.

Sydney has the most rents, with rents falling, while Perth and Adelaide have the least rents.

House rents dropped the most in the top 20 suburbs

Compared to Sydney, Melbourne’s suburbs have significantly reduced rents or staying in flat suburbs (25 suburbs of houses, 8 suburbs) (113 suburbs of houses, 57 suburbs).

House rents are on Forresters Beach on the Central Coast to Sydney’s North, down 13% per week to $693.

The second is Wollowa Island in the north of Brisbane, where rents fell nearly 12% to $750 per week, while Hunters Hill on Sydney’s Lower North Shore fell 11.6% to $1,300 per week.

In the unit market, North Hobart fell 15.5% per week to $493, ​​while rents in neighboring Hobart fell 9.6%. Unit rents in Enmore, Sydney’s inner west, fell 13.3% to $520 a week.

Although most of the rent drops are relatively small, there are several suburbs that can save a lot of money compared to a year ago.

House rents dropped the most in the top 20 suburbs

Throughout the capital, there are 14 suburbs where home rents drop by $100 per week or nine suburbs, and unit rents drop by $50 or more per week.

The largest rents for home rents fell to Sydney suburbs, which are already expensive for renters, such as Vaucluse (down 200 to $3,000 per week), Hunters Hill (down 170 to $1,300 per week) and Sylvania Waters (down 150 to $1,300 per week).

For units, rents are in Canberra’s Red Mountain (down $155 to $520 per week), North Hobart (down $90 to $493 per week) and Enmore (down $80 to $520 per week).

Weekly rents fell $50, equivalent to $2,600 per year, while weekly rents fell $100, equivalent to $5,200 per year.

Although rents in many suburbs have fallen, the decline is far from normative, and rents in many suburbs have increased significantly.

House rents rose 10% or more in the capital suburbs of 395 suburbs, while unit rents rose the same level in 211 suburbs. Most of these large rents are in the suburbs of Perth, Sydney and Melbourne.

Rea Group’s Reasonable Rental Affordability Report released last month reveals an incredibly difficult situation for renters, with rent affordability falling to new lows as rental income exceeds.

However, the report shows that Victoria’s conditions are a little easier and that renters can afford the largest share of rent on typical income.

Ms Flaherty said rents are likely to continue to rise in the coming year.

“Looking forward, we expect higher rental growth rates found in the last 12 months for the rest of the year,” she said.