A woman searching for a home said she felt like she was being treated like cattle as she queued with about 70 other applicants to inspect inner-city rental properties.
Within a month, Nikki has attended around 20 rental inspections in Brisbane — 12 of which were within a week, she told Yahoo News.
It was the first time in five years that she had needed to search for a rental property, and, returning to the market, she said it was alarming to see how desperate renters had become, as queues of people became a common sight in the struggle to find affordable housing.
“The biggest change is just these huge lines. Like, having to line up to get into the property, showing up, and there’s already like 20 people there five minutes before it opens,” she explained.
Cotality’s Rental Review for Q2 2026 reports that every Australian capital city has vacancy rates of less than 2 per cent, reflecting a tight rental market across the country. The worst is Adelaide, which has a vacancy rate of just 1 per cent.
The group’s Head of Research, Gerard Burg said, “With vacancy rates compressed so tightly, tenants are left with very little leverage”.
Nikki said she faced intense competition as dozens of applicants also lined up outside properties in search for a rental. Source: Supplied
Properties Nikki visited attracted dozens of hopeful tenants, leading to wait times of 10 to 20 minutes.
“They just try and push you through,” she said. “It gets a bit emotionally taxing.”
Searching for a rental in the third most expensive Aussie city
Those rentals that attracted more people than others were often close to public transport, priced at about $600 a week, and spacious, she said.
While Sydney is still Australia’s most expensive capital city to rent in, Perth and Brisbane are following close behind and are narrowing the gap, according to Cotality’s Rental Review. Rent rises have been smaller in Melbourne in recent years.
The average rental amount in Brisbane is $734 per week.
As Nikki scoured to find a two-bedroom unit close enough to the city for herself, her boyfriend, and two cats, she said she’d often stumble into the same people looking for a place to rent.
While chatting with others who were at the same inspections, she said she heard from people who had been looking for a rental twice as long as she had.
Hearing others’ experiences, she said, “It just kind of scares you”.
“Like, ‘oh crap! Is this gonna be us?'”
The stress especially escalated for the 28-year-old as she navigated a rental market alongside people with varying dependencies, such as parents with children, but they are considered her competition.
“I had a little bit of a cry because I was just exhausted just going from place to place, you’re seeing the same people, and you’re all in the same situation,” Nikki said.
“I don’t want to compete with a single mum, but unfortunately, I also need a place to live.”
“It’s feeling very Hunger Gamesy.”
Exhausted renter puts her success down to ‘luck’
Despite securing a new rental for herself, her boyfriend and two cats, Nikki said she is cautious about the instability of the rental market. Source: Supplied
Nikki said she and her partner’s rental applications were accepted for a two-bedroom, two-bath unit within their budget. They had applied for about 10 rentals.
However, coming off such a tedious search for housing, she said, she still had a “little fear” until all the paperwork was signed.
Nikki told Yahoo News she remains cautious about the rental market’s instability and the potential for future price increases, as a renter’s situation can be unpredictable.
For now, though, she said her rental with a little yard, space to entertain and air conditioning is “an absolute win”.
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Based on her recent experience, Nikki said she has learned that there is no such thing as a “little hack” to secure a rental.
Instead, she advises persistence and flexibility in the search process.
“I just think it’s a case of luck.”
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