Rent prices in the west are scaling the price ladder faster than those in the Sydney CBD: PRDnationwide

Median rent prices are rising faster in the outer suburbs of Sydney than in the inner-city CBD in the past 12 months, according to the latest Sydney GMR Rental Market report by PRDnationwide.

The September figures were examined across three dwelling types: one-bedroom units, two-bedroom units and three-bedroom houses.

Inner-city suburbs recorded the highest median rent prices in Sydney, according to the report, forcing some inner-city tenants into outer-ring suburbs and the central coast.

The most expensive inner suburbs include Sydney, Willoughby, Waverley and Manly. which all featured at the top of the median unit rental list.

The median weekly rent price for Sydney is $500, a 15% growth in 12 months.

“Rent prices have become unaffordable to some inner city tenants, forcing them into the outer ring suburbs and the Central Coast, and therefore increasing demand,” says PRDnationwide research analyst Oded Reuveni-Etzioni.

The western suburbs of Sydney that recorded higher growth include Penrith, with 9.2% per annum, Liverpool and Fairfield with 9.2% growth and 10.2% per annum and Campbelltown by 11.1%.

The long-term increases in median rent for a three-bedroom house ranged from an average of 4.7% per annum in the Leichhardt suburb to 9.1% in the Auburn City Council, according to the report.

“The low growth in Leichhardt was the result of low affordability, while in the Auburn local government area and new land subdivision in Lidcombe; it attracted higher rent prices for three bedroom houses,” says Reuveni-Etzioni.

Reuveni-Etzioni says growth in most municipalities over the 12 months to September were below the five-year average, a trend that was noticed across all dwelling types.

“This may signal a growing buyers’ confidence, with a narrowing gap between the cost of rent and ownership converting some tenants into buyers,” Reuveni-Etzioni says.