The five most affordable suburbs to rent a house and unit in Canberra

When looking for a place to rent, sorting out a list of homes from most affordable to most expensive is one of the first filters a renter applies before trawling through the countless properties on offer.

With Canberra’s median asking rent for houses still the highest in the nation and unit prices the second-highest of all capital cities after Sydney, according to the latest Domain Rent Report, tenants and renters are feeling the pinch.

We’ve done the work for you and have collated a list of most affordable suburbs to rent a house and unit in the capital.

Units are a popular option for those wanting a low-maintenance lifestyle with some added amenities such as a pool and gym, but those wanting a yard and extra space to entertain a growing family may opt for a house.

For those looking at renting an apartment or unit, the suburb of Hackett is the most affordable with a median asking rent of $340 per week, a 3 per cent increase year-on-year.

This was followed by Lyons with a median asking rent of $350 per week, unchanged from the year prior; and Curtin at $380 per week, down 1.3 per cent year-on-year.

Mitchell Cross of PRD Canberra said the most affordable units were mostly ex-government buildings and public housing blocks.

“The most affordable suburbs are older suburbs so, as you can imagine, the units available there are a lot older stock,” Mr Cross said.

“The units there have no balconies, no yards or amenities … it doesn’t surprise me that those suburbs are more affordable.”

Meanwhile, Lou Seminara of Seminara & Co Properties said while the data showed the suburbs were on the more affordable end, he’d seen properties in these suburbs go for more than the rental asking price.

“What we’re seeing is against the grain,” Mr Seminara said.

“The properties we’re listing for rent are going quite well … it’s a supply and demand situation and we have tenants offering more to secure a unit in those suburbs.”

As for houses, the most affordable suburb to rent is Belconnen with a median of $440 per week, a 2.3 increase year-on-year. This was followed by Holt at $470 per week, up 1.1 per cent year-on-year and Ngunnawal at $480 per week, unchanged year-on-year.

“The suburbs of Belconnen, Holt and Banks, in particular, all have older houses in the suburbs that make it affordable,” Mr Cross said.

“When you look at Macgregor or Gungahlin, for instance, houses there are all new or newly renovated so rental prices would be more expensive.”

Speaking on the general rental market, Mr Cross said he has had an oversupply of rental properties in recent weeks.

“With the lack of university students relocating from interstate or overseas, who’d usually lease out the inner-city and Belconnen apartments and houses, we’ve had more rental properties vacated than usual,” Mr Cross said.

With the spring season in full gear, Mr Cross expects more rentals to be sold on the market.

“It’s a great time to sell in spring and as more people buy homes, there’ll still be those who will use it as an investment property,” he added.

Mr Seminara noted that if the Victoria and Queensland border restrictions were lifted in the coming months, “we’ll see more movement from people moving to the city”.

“We still have people who are looking for somewhere to rent, especially as we draw closer to the end of the year,” he said.