Renters searching for shared accom at new low: Easyroommate

Jennifer DukeDecember 7, 2020

New statistics have found that those searching for shared accommodation across Australia is at an all time low, with Easyroommate’s data analysis of 20,000 users noting the significant drop.

Over October, those looking for a room in a share house fell to 14,000. This contrasts sharply to 25,000 in August.

Compared to last year’s October result, this is a 4,000 person drop.

Sebastiaan Ram, manager of Easyroommate, noted that this is partially seasonal despite it hitting a new low.

“We typically see a surge in people looking for a house share in August, with the numbers tapering off before the beginning of the student season, which commences in November and commences through to February,” said Ram.

“The surge can be attributed to people choosing to move before competition from students makes it harder to find a flatshare.”

Despite the fall in the number of people looking, those holding property with rooms to rent should also note that the supply of rooms available decreased, keeping competition for the asset consistently high.

The highest demand of this type of accommodation is in Sydney, then Perth and the Gold Coast.

The number of people per looking per room available currently sits at the following:

Brisbane: 2
Gold Coast: 2.5
Melbourne: 3
Perth: 2.5
Sydney: 5
Adelaide: 2

“Rent in the major cities can be very expensive, and so more and more people are choosing to move into shared houses. Despite there being less people searching for a room, competition is still relatively high in the main cities,” he said.

Jennifer Duke

Jennifer Duke was a property writer at Property Observer

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