To put a number on in we’ve seen a 53 per cent increase in rents for both dwelling types between March 2020 and April 2024, according to PropTrack.
That’s faster growth than the Queensland average of 51 per cent and the national average of 43 per cent.
Queensland and Western Australia have seen the strongest growth over this period, PropTrack reports.
“The significant increase in rents since the pandemic onset has seen the share of properties listed for rent for less than $400/week hit a new record low of just 10.4 per cent nationally, and in the capital cities only 5.9 per cent of rentals now cost less than $400 a week,” it reports.
“Since late 2021, rental market conditions have tightened considerably in city markets that were hit hardest by the pandemic, spurred by smaller households, cities springing back to life and the surge in net migration and student arrivals.
“Vacancy rates have eased slightly in the past couple of months but remain close to record lows and less than half the level considered a healthy rate of vacancy, with low vacancy driving rents higher and creating challenging conditions for renters.”
In Brisbane the percentage share of houses with rents below $400 per week has dropped from 46.4 per cent in March 2020 to 5.3 per cent in April 2024. For units, the share has dropped from 49.2 per cent to 7.8 per cent.
The data shows why renters are increasingly needing to make decisions about potential compromises, but the good news is the pace of price growth is expected to ease.
