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<\/p>\nTenants advocates are warning it is an “extremely stressful time” for renters in Brisbane, as new figures show the city recorded the steepest quarterly rent rise of any capital city.<\/p>\n
The latest data from Domain shows median Brisbane house rents climbed to $670 per week in the December quarter, while units rose to $650 per week.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The 3.1 per cent rise for Brisbane renters was well above the second highest in Hobart, which recorded a 1.7 per cent rise, Sydney which rose by 1.3 per cent, and Canberra by 1.4 per cent.<\/p>\n
Melbourne, Adelaide, Perth and Darwin recorded no change.<\/p>\n
The CEO of Tenants Queensland, Penny Carr, said her organisation had seen the changes in their own data.<\/p>\n
“We talk to tenants every day who call us about a variety of problems and rent increases is probably about the fourth most common thing that we’re taking to people about,” she said.<\/p>\n
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Tenants Queensland CEO Penny Carr said rent rises are one of the top issues they hear about from renters. (ABC Radio Brisbane: Kenji Sato)<\/p>\n
“Some years ago it would’ve just been new tenancies that had steep rent increase but it’s now sitting tenants who are having back to back increases, and the increases that we’re seeing are well and truly above CPI.”<\/p>\n
Ms Carr said it was an “extremely stressful time” for renters.<\/p>\n
“[It is] very difficult for people to manage those increases, and they’ve got very limited options if they decide they want to try to take their chances elsewhere.”<\/p>\n
Renter Cora Mick works three jobs and has been struggling to find an affordable and secure place to live for more than a year.\u00a0<\/p>\n
His current rental is a one-bedroom with an outdoor bathroom.\u00a0<\/p>\n
“I was essentially homeless so I had to find something quickly, and I ended up choosing a place which … is out of my budget,” he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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Brisbane is one of Australia’s fastest growing regions, according to Domain’s chief of research Dr Nicola Powell. (ABC News: Michael Lloyd)<\/p>\n
He said he would not be able to afford his current rental without having a support network.\u00a0<\/p>\n
“I would absolutely be homeless. There’s no doubt in my mind.”<\/p>\n
Mr Mick said he was worried that it could become impossible to find stable accommodation if price growth continued.<\/p>\n
“I can’t help but fear that … housing for anybody in my situation, working multiple casual jobs … that it will more or less be impossible to live independently and to be able to afford somewhere secure and long-term.<\/p>\n
“Constantly being under financial stress is a massive drain and also prohibitive from fully engaging in the community.”<\/p>\n
Supply not keeping up with population<\/p>\n
Domain’s chief of research Dr Nicola Powell described the change in Brisbane as “re-acceleration”.<\/p>\n
“Sydney’s seen persistent growth, [whereas] we’ve seen in other cities like Adelaide and Perth a clear slowdown in the pace of rental price growth,” she said.<\/p>\n
“But with Brisbane what we are seeing is rents are rising faster than they were. It is the strongest growth we’ve seen in a December quarter for two years.”<\/p>\n
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Dr Nicola Powell said Brisbane’s rental market remains an outlier among the capital cities. (Supplied)<\/p>\n
The median asking price for a rental house in Brisbane still sits below Sydney, which reached $800 per week last quarter, and Perth, Canberra and Darwin which are all sitting at $700 per week.<\/p>\n
Dr Powell said there were multiple factors contributing to Brisbane’s rent rise.<\/p>\n
“It’s one of Australia’s fastest growing regions. We’ve seen strong levels of interstate migration, especially from our big capital cities of Sydney and Melbourne,” she said.<\/p>\n
“I think that’s a reflection of the lifestyle appeal and jobs growth but we’ve also seen strong levels of overseas arrivals into Queensland as well.”<\/p>\n
Dr Powell said Queensland’s housing supply had not kept up with its growing population.<\/p>\n
“Ultimately, that is what’s created the situation that we see today across Brisbane.”<\/p>\n
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The gap between median rental prices for houses and units has narrowed to just $20 in the last quarter. (ABC News: Christopher Gillette)<\/p>\n
Brisbane’s rental vacancy rate reached a one-year high of 0.9 per cent in December, still well below what the Real Estate Institute of Queensland would consider a ‘healthy’ rental market of between 2.6 and 3.5 per cent.<\/p>\n
Ms Carr said the tight rental market meant some renters were less likely to push back on conditions in their houses or units.<\/p>\n
“People do forgo getting repairs done, or if the real estate agent wants them to use a rent payment platform that isn’t really required of them, they might choose to use that and pay those fees instead of pushing back.”<\/p>\n
“They’re often being approached quite a long way out of the end of the lease, being offered a new agreement sometimes with a very high rent increase and they have to decide what to do and they’re being told they have to decide very quickly.”<\/p>\n
‘A lot going on’ for Queensland<\/p>\n
While the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games are seven years away, Dr Powell said their impact was likely already having an effect on Brisbane’s housing situation.<\/p>\n