More than 100 people lined up to view a $800 per week apartment in Bondi over the weekend. (Source: Instagram\/@brontelocal) <\/p>\n
Footage of a huge queue of renters<\/a> lining up to inspect a Bondi apartment has sparked heated debate online over the current state of the rental market<\/a>. But a housing economist has argued the reality is far less dire<\/a> than most people think. In fact, for most renting households, he says there is no crisis at all.<\/p>\n More than 100 renters were estimated to have lined up<\/a> to view the $800 per week two-bedroom apartment on Saturday, with the queue stretching through the apartment complex and down the block, with the scene even likened to The Hunger Games.<\/p>\n While the viral video of the moment caused a stir online, Ben Phillips, associate professor at the Australian National University Centre for Social Research and Methods, told Yahoo Finance it was \u201cnot in any way\u201d representative of rent problems<\/a> in Australia right now.<\/p>\n RELATED<\/p>\n \u201cI see these videos all the time and it\u2019s almost always somewhere that\u2019s a lovely place to live like Bondi,\u201d Phillips said.<\/p>\n \u201cAll these areas of either Sydney or Melbourne that are highly desirable places for particularly young couples to move to. So it’s not really that surprising there\u2019s a lot of interest.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s usually high-income couples. It\u2019s an extremely wealthy area, it\u2019s not really the epicentre of rental problems or rental stress<\/a> in Australia. Far from it, really.\u201d<\/p>\n Do you have a story to share? Contact tamika.seeto@yahooinc.com<\/p>\n Phillips said the reality was most rentals<\/a> were located in the middle and outer suburbs of Australia\u2019s capital cities, where renters may have lower incomes and were more likely to face financial stress paying their rent.<\/p>\n \u201cI think if we were to start seeing enormous lineups and queues outside rental properties in Penrith or Mount Druitt, or outer suburbs of Brisbane or Melbourne, well, that\u2019s when we\u2019ve really got a problem,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cThere are problems with the rental market, no doubt, but it\u2019s got nothing to do with young, relatively high-income, likely dual-income families trying to move into Bronte because it\u2019s a beautiful suburb.\u201d<\/p>\n Maxwell Munro from Ellis Munro buyer\u2019s agency uploaded the footage to the Bronte Local Instagram and estimated more than 100 people had lined up to inspect the apartment.<\/p>\n Munro agreed the video didn\u2019t reflect demand nationally.<\/p>\n \u201cI think Bondi, being Bondi, everyone wants to live by the beach, it\u2019s a beautiful place. Lovely beaches, lovely lifestyle and, of course, it\u2019s summer,\u201d he told Yahoo Finance.<\/p>\n Story Continues <\/p>\n \u201cYes with vacancy rates sitting at around 1.4 per cent, things are always going to have a lot of interest and particularly at that price point, $800 for a two-bedroom in Bondi is kind of unheard of.\u201d<\/p>\n According to Cotality data, the median asking rent<\/a> for Bondi Beach is currently between $1,000 and $1,100 per week.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s dropped down from about $1,250. It peaked in June 2024, so about this time last year, it was up even more so [and] it is coming down,\u201d Munro said.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s also underpinned by the available stock. There\u2019s just not much stock so that\u2019s why there was a big line as well.\u201d<\/p>\n Median weekly rental values across Sydney were just shy of $800 per week over the June quarter, up 0.8 per cent annually. Combined capital rents were sitting at $694 per week and nationally $663 per week.<\/p>\n Phillips pointed out that advertised rents only made up a small share of the total rental market, reflecting how hard and expensive it is to move rentals or rent for the first time. The vast majority of rental properties are currently tenanted and on pre-existing agreements.<\/p>\n The most comprehensive database on rents paid in Australia comes from the Australian Bureau of Statistics, which measures price changes for rents as part of the Consumer Price Index (CPI).<\/p>\n This captures around 600,000 rental properties or nearly one in three rental properties. By this measure, renters have increased by 19 per cent in just over five years, compared to advertised rents which have increased 49 per cent.<\/p>\n While 19 per cent is a big increase, it is also two percentage points less than the overall increase in the CPI over the same period.<\/p>\n \u201c[For] most people, the ABS statistics would suggest that rent increases have been less than the overall rate of inflation over the past five years,” Phillips explained.<\/p>\n \u201cSo in technical terms, real rents have gone backwards over the last five years, but there certainly has been a bit of a spike of late.<\/p>\n \u201cBut there\u2019s also been some further assistance given by the government in terms of increased rent assistance payments<\/a> to those on welfare payments. There\u2019s about 1.3 million households on those payments.\u201d<\/p>\n Phillips estimates that rental costs as a share of renters\u2019 incomes have dropped from 28 per cent in 2013 to 26 per cent now.<\/p>\n While there’s no denying some people are struggling in the rental market, Phillips said the idea that we are in a crisis was “overblown” for most renters.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s not that different to any other time in the last 5, 10, 20, 30 years. The overall market now in terms of what people are paying for rents is similar relative to their income as to what it was 5, 10, 20, 30 years ago,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s not to say that there aren\u2019t troubles with the rental market. Of course there is. Many people are struggling to pay the rent, but it doesn\u2019t suggest to me that it\u2019s a crisis compared to any other point in time in Australia\u2019s history.\u201d<\/p>\n Get the latest Yahoo Finance news – follow us on Facebook<\/a>, LinkedIn<\/a> and Instagram<\/a>.<\/p>\n The Bondi apartment has two-bedroom, one-bathroom and no car park. (Source: realestate.com.au) <\/p>\n
The apartment’s desirable location likely draw the big crowds, rather than it being representative of the typical rental market. (Source: realestate.com.au) <\/p>\n
Videos of Huge lines of people queuing for rental inspections have become a more common sight. (Source: Instagram\/@brontelocal) <\/p>\n