Home News Housing rents rising at fastest rate since 2007, units continue to suffer

Housing rents rising at fastest rate since 2007, units continue to suffer

National rental rates rose 3.2% in the March 2021 quarter according to CoreLogic, the largest quarterly increase in almost 14 years.

By Alex Brewster

First published on 27 Apr 2021

Housing rents rising at fastest rate since 2007, units continue to suffer

Regional areas drove much of the growth, with rents rising 4.1% across the combined regional markets compared to capital city growth of 2.9%.

Regional unit and house rents were up 4.8% and 4.0% in the quarter respectively, while capital city unit and house rents were up 2.0% and 3.3% each.

Houses and units in Darwin showed the strongest growth in rental rates over the quarter, with houses rising 8.2% and units rising 7.0%.

Buying a home or looking to refinance? The table below features home loans with some of the lowest interest rates on the market for owner occupiers.

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Lender	Home Loan	Interest Rate	Comparison Rate*	Monthly Repayment	Repayment type	Rate Type	Ongoing Fees	Upfront Fees	Max LVR	Tags	Features	Link	Compare	Promoted Product	Disclosure
loans.com.au	loans.com.au Variable Home Loan (LVR < 90%)	6.04% p.a.	6.06% p.a.	$3,011	Principal & Interest	Variable	$0	$530	90%	4.6 Star Customer Ratings	Available for purchase or refinance, min 10% deposit needed to qualify. No application, ongoing monthly or annual fees. Quick and easy online application process.	More details	Compare	Promoted	Disclosure
Unloan	Unloan Variable Rate Home Loan LVR < 80%	5.99% p.a.	5.90% p.a.	$2,995	Principal & Interest	Variable	$0	$0	80%	Apply in minutes	No application or ongoing fees. Annual rate discount Unlimited redraws & additional repayments. LVR <80% A low-rate variable home loan from a 100% online lender. Backed by the Commonwealth Bank.	More details	Compare	Promoted	Disclosure
ubank, part of NAB	ubank, part of NAB Neat home loan - max. 60% LVR (Owner occupied, Principal and interest)	6.09% p.a.	6.11% p.a.	$3,027	Principal & Interest	Variable	$0	$250	60%		No annual fees – None! Get fast pre-approval Unlimited additional repayments free of charge	More details	Compare	Promoted	Disclosure

Important Information and Comparison Rate Warning

Base criteria of: a $400,000 loan amount, variable, fixed, principal and interest (P&I) home loans with an LVR (loan-to-value) ratio of at least 80%. However, the ‘Compare Home Loans’ table allows for calculations to be made on variables as selected and input by the user. Some products will be marked as promoted, featured or sponsored and may appear prominently in the tables regardless of their attributes. All products will list the LVR with the product and rate which are clearly published on the product provider’s website. Monthly repayments, once the base criteria are altered by the user, will be based on the selected products’ advertised rates and determined by the loan amount, repayment type, loan term and LVR as input by the user/you. *The Comparison rate is based on a $150,000 loan over 25 years. Warning: this comparison rate is true only for this example and may not include all fees and charges. Different terms, fees or other loan amounts might result in a different comparison rate. Rates correct as of . View disclaimer.

Important Information and Comparison Rate Warning

CoreLogic’s Research Director Tim Lawless said the strong growth hid the massive diversity in rental conditions across the country.

"At one end of the spectrum we have Perth and Darwin where annual rental growth is well into double digits and accelerating," Mr Lawless said.

"At the other end is Melbourne and Sydney where rents are down over the year."

Rental affordability has shrunk in Canberra, with the ACT capital currently the most expensive city to rent a house or unit at $612 per week and $513 per week, respectively.

National gross rental yields were recorded at 3.55%, down from 3.71% over the December quarter and 3.76% a year earlier as dwelling values outperform rental growth.

Melbourne recorded the weakest growth in rents in the March quarter, with house rents up 1.6%, while unit rents were steady.

Mr Lawless said Sydney and Melbourne's rental markets were suffering as a result of closed international markets in areas already challenged by high supply.

"Melbourne unit rents have fallen by -8.2% over the year and Sydney unit rents are -4.9% lower," he said.

“Some inner city precincts of Melbourne have seen unit rents fall by more than -20% over the past 12 months.

"Prospects for a material improvement in rental conditions across these inner city high density precincts are largely dependent on a return of tenancy demand from international students and visitors, who were previously a key component of rental demand."

What capital city suburbs have the highest rental yield?

The CoreLogic Rental Review for the March 2021 quarter revealed the highest yielding suburb for each capital city. You can see a breakdown for each capital in the tables below:

Sydney

Suburb	Region	Property type	Gross rental yield	Median rent
Millers Point	Sydney - City and Inner South	Houses	7.5%	$1,023
Gorokan	Central Coast	Units	5.0%	$383
North Gosford	Central Coast	Units	4.9%	$450
West Gosford	Central Coast	Units	4.9%	$455
Gosford	Central Coast	Units	4.9%	$449
Carramar	Sydney - Parramatta	Units	4.8%	$313
Warwick Farm	Sydney - South West	Units	4.8%	$334
Mount Druitt	Sydney - Blacktown	Units	4.7%	$357
Liverpool	Sydney - South West	Units	4.7%	$341
Point Frederick	Central Coast	Units	4.7%	$461

Source: CoreLogic

Melbourne

Suburb	Region	Property type	Gross rental yield	Median rent
Carlton	Melbourne - Inner	Units	5.1%	$378
Melton	Melbourne - West	Units	4.9%	$314
Roxburgh Park	Melbourne - North West	Units	4.9%	$372
Wallan	Melbourne - North East	Units	4.8%	$339
Travancore	Melbourne - Inner	Units	4.8%	$363
Melton South	Melbourne - West	Units	4.8%	$319
Harkness	Melbourne - West	Units	4.8%	$326
Hastings	Mornington Peninsula	Units	4.7%	$385
Craigieburn	Melbourne - North West	Units	4.7%	$359
Truganina	Melbourne - West	Units	4.7%	$360

Source: CoreLogic

Brisbane

Suburb	Region	Property type	Gross rental yield	Median rent
Waterford West	Logan - Beaudesert	Units	8.8%	$303
Woodridge	Logan - Beaudesert	Units	8.6%	$281
Logan Central	Logan - Beaudesert	Units	8.3%	$272
Slacks Creek	Logan - Beaudesert	Units	8.2%	$302
Kingston	Logan - Beaudesert	Units	7.6%	$331
Browns Plains	Logan - Beaudesert	Units	7.5%	$351
Booval	Ipswich	Units	7.4%	$274
Loganlea	Logan - Beaudesert	Units	7.4%	$330
Eagleby	Logan - Beaudesert	Units	7.2%	$315
Mount Warren Park	Logan - Beaudesert	Units	7.1%	$292

Source: CoreLogic

Adelaide

Suburb	Region	Property type	Gross rental yield	Median rent
Elizabeth North	Adelaide - North	Houses	7.8%	$291
Elizabeth South	Adelaide - North	Houses	7.5%	$296
Elizabeth Downs	Adelaide - North	Houses	7.3%	$301
Davoren Park	Adelaide - North	Houses	7.3%	$291
Salisbury	Adelaide - North	Units	7.3%	$290
Elizabeth Grove	Adelaide - North	Houses	7.2%	$301
Smithfield	Adelaide - North	Houses	6.8%	$318
Elizabeth Park	Adelaide - North	Houses	6.7%	$310
Klemzig	Adelaide - North	Units	6.7%	$315
Salisbury East	Adelaide - North	Units	6.7%	$290

Source: CoreLogic

Perth

Suburb	Region	Property type	Gross rental yield	Median rent
Orelia	Perth - South West	Units	8.9%	$239
Kelmscott	Perth - South East	Units	7.9%	$294
Armadale	Perth - South East	Units	7.7%	$293
Gosnells	Perth - South East	Units	7.3%	$308
Queens Park	Perth - South East	Units	7.2%	$362
Shoalwater	Perth - South West	Units	7.2%	$283
Cloverdale	Perth - South East	Units	7.0%	$382
East Cannington	Perth - South East	Units	7.0%	$380
Cannington	Perth - South East	Units	7.0%	$374
Success	Perth - South West	Units	7.0%	$357

Source: CoreLogic

Darwin

Suburb	Region	Property type	Gross rental yield	Median rent
Parap	Darwin	Units	8.%	$457
Bakewell	Darwin	Units	8.3%	$367
Woolner	Darwin	Units	7.8%	$506
Darwin	Darwin	Units	7.8%	$523
Johnston	Darwin	Units	7.7%	$421
Rosebery	Darwin	Units	7.7%	$419
Driver	Darwin	Units	7.6%	$384
Nightcliff	Darwin	Units	7.5%	$390
Millner	Darwin	Units	7.2%	$370
Bayview	Darwin	Units	7.0%	$580

Source: CoreLogic

Canberra

Suburb	Region	Property type	Gross rental yield	Median rent
Curtin	ACT	Units	6.7%	$408
Lyons	ACT	Units	6.5%	$450
Gungahlin	ACT	Units	6.4%	$473
Wright	ACT	Units	6.1%	$505
Phillip	ACT	Units	6.1%	$472
Franklin	ACT	Units	6.1%	$479
Braddon	ACT	Units	6.0%	$544
Belconnen	ACT	Units	5.9%	$474
Crace	ACT	Units	5.9%	$488
Harrison	ACT	Units	5.9%	$482

Source: CoreLogic

^{Photo by Nao Takabayashi on Unsplash}

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Alex Brewster

Alex joined Savings.com.au as a finance journalist in 2019. He enjoys covering in-depth economical releases and breaking down how they might affect the everyday punter. He is passionate about providing Australians with the information and tools needed to make them financially stable for their futures.

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Housing rents rising at fastest rate since 2007, units continue to suffer