Sydney house rents push tenants into units: APM

Alistair WalshDecember 7, 2020

Hefty house rents in Sydney have been driving tenants towards cheaper rental units but this may lead to unit rents rising to the same level, according to Australian Property Monitors.

House rents remained unchanged at $500 per week over the March quarter, but unit rents increased 2.2% to $470 per week, according to APM’s March quarterly rental price series report.

Andrew Wilson, APM’s senior economist, says high median house rents of $500 per week are pushing Sydney tenants into units.

The gap now sits at $30 a week. In the March 2012 the gap was $50.

“With first home buyer numbers currently at record lows, demand is increasing for already scarce rental accommodation, particularly at the more affordable end of the price spectrum,” Wilson says.

“The differential between house rents and unit rents however is quickly closing with the real prospect looming of rental parity between these accommodation types.”

House rents in Sydney remained the same since the March 2012 quarter but unit rents increased $30 a week in the same time.

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Sydney's house yields are up 0.7% over the quarter to 4.64% and unit yields increased 0.4% to 5.15%.

Nationally the median asking rent for units increased 2.2% in the three months ending March 2013, with Perth leading the pack.

Units rents rose 3.8% in Perth, 2.9% in Melbourne, 2.2% in Sydney and 1.8% in Adelaide. Unit rents remained unchanged in other state capitals.

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House rents remained stable across the country, increasing 0.4%. House rents rose 7.7% in Darwin over the quarter, 4.3% in Perth and 1% in Canberra.  House rents fell 3.1% in Hobart and remained unchanged elsewhere.

Alistair Walsh

Deutsche Welle online reporter

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