Sydney house rents up $55 per week in six months, but Brisbane rents down: Residex

Renters of houses in Sydney are paying an average of $55 more a week than they were six months ago, with median house rents rising from $500 to $555 in the space of six months, according to the latest Residex data.

Sydney recorded a 6.73% increase in median house rents over the course of 2011, the biggest increase of all the capital cities.

Brisbane was the only capital city market to record a decline in house rents over 2011 with renters paying $375 per week on average (an decrease of 2.6% over 2011) compared to $380 six months ago.

Perth recorded the second biggest capital city increase, with house rents rising 5.26% over the past 12 months to a median of $400. On average Perth renters are paying $10 more than they did a year ago.

Darwin remains the second most expensive city to rent a house, with rents increasing by 3.85% to $540 per week.

Outside of Brisbane, Country Tasmania was the only other market to register a decline in rents over the year with the Median Rent falling 3.85% to $250 per week.

Capital city rent changes over past six months:

Source: Residex