Weekly rents across Australian accommodations have reached record highs of $627 per week, with rents ranging from $770 per week in Sydney, to $547 in Hobart.
Summary of Median Weekly Rents and Price Changes – Data to April 2024
Region | Median weekly Rent | Monthly change in Rents | Quarterly change in Rents | Annual change in Rents |
Sydney | $770 | 1.0% | 3.0% | 9.0% |
Melbourne | $589 | 0.8% | 2.8% | 9.6% |
Brisbane | $649 | 0.8% | 2.1% | 8.5% |
Adelaide | $589 | 0.6% | 2.4% | 9.1% |
Perth | $669 | 1.2% | 3.9% | 13.6% |
Hobart | $547 | 0.2% | 2.5% | -0.2% |
Darwin | $617 | -0.3% | -0.1% | 3.5% |
Canberra | $674 | 0.6% | 1.9% | 1.8% |
Combined capitals | $659 | 0.9% | 2.9% | 9.4% |
Combined regionals | $540 | 0.7% | 2.5% | 6.4% |
National | $627 | 0.8% | 2.8% | 8.5% |
Instead of limiting rent growth due to affordability, annual rent increases are beginning to recover by early 2024.
Nationally, annual rent growth rose from a recent low of 8.1% in October 2023 to 8.5% in April.
Even Where Rents have Fallen, Prices are Now Showing Signs of Stabilising or Rising Again

The figure below displays that the regional rent growth is also back on the rise.

Annual growth in local unit rents fell at 5.0% in the year to September and recovered to 6.9% in the 12 months to April.
The pace of local housing recovery has been more impressive, with rents increasing annually from 3.4% in September to 6.2% in April this year.
Regional QLD and Tasmanian households are most exposed to regional rent growth (each saw an annual growth increase of 350 basis points between September 2023 and April this year).
Part of the reason rents are accelerating again in the country may be because tenants are forced into more expensive, outlying markets while being priced out of urban centres the most desirable.
Group households that are slightly more affordable may offer more space or have slightly less competitive rentals that potential tenants can target more.
The figure given below illustrates the average annual rent increase in SA3 areas by the residential distance to the nearest CBD.

Between October last year and April this year, they closed 30-40 km from urban centres.
In Sydney, this includes Campbelltown, which saw an annual increase of 13.4% in the year to April from 9.1% in October.
In Brisbane, this includes Jimboomba, where average annual rents went from 3.8% to 6.4% over the same period.
Melbourne’s Casey–North is at a similar distance, with annual house rents increasing from 11.7% to 13.1% over the same period.
Although construction in these suburban markets has rebounded at its fastest pace, the rental developments that have taken place are fairly spread out, only 10 kilometres from city centres.
Many of these markets are only seeing rent increases decelerate from recent highs.
Supply and Demand Pressures Remain High Across the Australian Rental Market
In addition to these regional shifts, supply and demand pressures remain high across the Australian rental market broadly.
On the demand side, experimental figures from the ABS show that by June 2023, the average household size has fallen to just 2.50 people.
This is despite the material growth in group households, which was much higher than the growth in households of two standing alone.
Overseas migration in the year to September was just under 550,000, with temporary visa holders accounting for more than 90% of this figure.
This means that expatriates can be moved to rented accommodation, especially for the long term.
Given that the average household size is 2.5 people, the high rate of overseas migration means there was an intention to build more than 200,000 new homes in the year to September.
At a time when the residential construction sector is facing supply constraints, only 173,000 new units were completed.
Conclusion
Rents rose in early 2024, the highest in Australia as a whole. While growth slowed somewhat, it has picked up again, especially in suburbs far from major cities. This is due to renters being priced out of cities and a decrease in average house size, leading to greater demand for rental properties Overall, strong demand and supply for a few continue to put upward pressure on housing costs.
Disclaimer: The information presented above is in the sense of illustration and discussion only. Any party seeking to rely on content or otherwise should conduct their own due diligence and inquiries to ensure that it is relevant to their personal and business needs and circumstances.
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