The Perth and Gold Coast locations where rents are higher than blue chip Melbourne
It is now more expensive to rent in certain Perth and Gold Coast suburbs than it is in Melbourne’s most prestigious neighbourhoods, new rental price analysis has revealed.
The suburbs have also outranked even some of Sydney’s famed beachfront neighbourhoods.
Across the capital cities, the cost of renting a house has gone up by 10.5 per cent in the past year to reach a record median rental of $630 a week, according to the latest Domain Rent Report.
The cost of renting a house in Toorak and Brighton – Melbourne’s most expensive suburbs at a median of $1200 a week – has been overtaken by suburbs like City Beach in Perth ($1238 a week) and Broadbeach Waters on the Gold Coast ($1350 a week).
Dalkeith in Perth and other Gold Coast suburbs like Clear Island Waters, Bundall and Mermaid Beach all recorded rents on par with Toorak and Brighton.
“You’d expect the list to be dominated by Sydney areas but there are premium areas of Victoria such as Brighton and Toorak – which doesn’t surprise me – premium suburbs in WA and several Gold Coast suburbs that have higher property prices that drive a high rental figure,” says Domain chief of research and economics Dr Nicola Powell.
“But they also have this lifestyle aspect to them that draws prospective tenants towards them.”
Hayley Malone of John Reid Real Estate says Broadbeach Waters, which sits near popular neighbourhoods like Burleigh Heads and Miami, offers a strong residential community.
“When I first moved here four years ago, I knew nothing of the area but there’s a real community feel around here,” she says. “It’s quiet, unlike other neighbourhoods, but also close to all the popular areas.”
To get into the suburb, Malone says the most affordable property would cost $850 a week, “but that’s for an older home that hasn’t been renovated”.
Homes on the water are usually leased for over $2000 a week, and that’s what many of their renters want, she says. “A lot of our renters are usually those who are travelling interstate for a while or looking to relocate to the Gold Coast and want to rent in Broadbeach Waters until they can buy.”
Malone is advertising the house at 64 Poinciana Boulevard, Broadbeach Waters, for $1150 a week. On 653 square metres of land, it was recently renovated and features a stylish open-plan kitchen and dining area, and seamless indoor-outdoor living. It is walking distance from the closest beach.
“That one’s been on the market for about two weeks now and has gotten a lot of interest, so I expect it to be leased out very soon,” she says.
In Perth, Sarah Harmer of Acton/Belle Property Dalkeith says the affluent suburb’s proximity to the city’s best beaches, including Scarborough and City, has increased demand.
“It’s a beachy kind of lifestyle on offer so the value of homes is pretty high,” she says, adding that the blocks are often larger as well.
“At that price point, you’re looking at a 600-square-metre block, with four bedrooms and a pool,” she says. “But properties lease out for as high as $2600 a week … it really depends on the tenants.”
In Toorak, the rental market has been competitive due to a lack of stock, says RT Edgar Toorak business and development and leasing manager Taylah Cagalj.
“The vacancy rate in our office is sitting at 0.05 per cent,” she says. “We’ve got a lot of tenants in our database and a lot of people wanting a property, desperate to get into the suburb. But there’s just not enough stock.
“I’m leasing properties for more than $4000 down to $350 a week but I think there’s only a handful on houses for rent right now.”
Cagalj says she has seen a trend of tenants opting to renew their leases instead of seeking new properties.
“We’re finding a lot of tenants are renewing their leases rather than moving on so we haven’t had a lot of properties come to market,” she says. “Even those whose rents have gone up are willing to cop the rent increase and renew the lease, so we’re not seeing those houses on the market, which is why there hasn’t been as much growth as it used to be.
“We’re also seeing a lot of landlords sell their properties because of the high holding costs so there are several things at play that are affecting cost and stock.”
In Brighton, property manager Ben McDonald of Buxton Real Estate Brighton is leasing 10 York Street for $1295 a week. The three-bedroom, three-bathroom house includes Miele kitchen appliances, spacious bedrooms and a fully decked rear garden.
“This is a high-end property in Brighton at that price point and interest has been very good recently so I expect this one to lease very quickly,” McDonald says.
He says demand for rentals in the area has slowed recently but tenants are willing to pay high prices for premium homes.
“The quality of homes on the market and the distance to Melbourne city centre is bringing people here,” McDonald says. “It’s suburban, close to public transport and a pretty safe area.”
While the cost of renting increased in many premium suburbs in the past year, Powell says all tenants are feeling the financial strain at the moment.
“Budgets – no matter what that budget looks like, whether you’re talking a low or high-end budget – are very stretched,” she says. “Almost every household is hitting that affordability ceiling, no matter the price point … everyone’s feeling the pinch right now in the rental market.
Harmer, however, says that in her experience the high-end market has “relatively deep pockets”.
“Anything between that $500 to $700 a week mark is very popular,” she says. Homes costing more than $1200 a week “are on the market for a little while longer but that’s because you’re dealing with a smaller pool of tenants”.
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