Sydney and Perth rents hit record highs: APM

Rents in Sydney and Perth have hit record highs after median rents skyrocketed over the quarter in both cities, according to Australian Property Monitors' quarterly rental report.

In Sydney house rents grew 4% over the quarter to a record $520 per week for houses and Perth house rents grew 4.7% to a record $450 per week.

In Sydney unit rents are unchanged over the quarter, but they recorded strong growth the previous quarter.

The rises place Sydney as the second most expensive city to rent a house, after Darwin.

“[These rises are] further evidence of the rising cost of housing in the harbour city, though unit rental growth remained flat over the September quarter,” says APM’s Andrew Wilson.

Yields for houses in Sydney have fallen 0.8% over the quarter to 4.67%, while unit yields fell 0.4% to 5.13%.

The report says rent rises in Perth were “extraordinary”, with house rents jumping 4.7% over the quarter and 15.4% over the year while unit rents jumped 2.6% over the quarter and 11.4% over the year.

Source: APM

House rents in Perth are now at $450 per week, while unit rents are at $390 per week.

“Housing shortages are starting to bite in Perth as immigration levels surge,” says Wilson.

House yields in Perth increased 1.7% over the quarter to 5.12%, while unit yields increased 2.8% to 5.73%.

Rent rises in Darwin eclipsed all other state capitals, with median rents jumping 7.7% for houses and 10.4% for units over the quarter.

The rises consolidate Darwin’s lead as the state capital with the largest median rents for both houses and units.

Weekly rents in Darwin are now at $700 per week for houses and $530 per week for units.

Wilson says the rises in Darwin reflect “to a large degree the impacts of the transient nature of the workforce. Nonetheless, the Darwin rental market continues to struggle with an underlying shortage of available housing.”

House yields in Darwin fell 3.4% over the quarter to 5.14%, while unit yields increased 4.5% to 6.1%.