ANNA Hartmann has been desperately seeking a home to rent with her teenage daughters for more than six months.
The single mum-of-two refuses to give up even after repeated knockbacks as rental demand on the Gold Coast reaches unprecedented highs.
Ms Hartmann and her daughters, aged 13 and 17, have lived with her parents at Robina since being forced to vacate the Tallebudgera Valley home they were renting because the owner planned to develop the property.
She has faced a dwindling supply of properties available within her budget of $400 a week and come up against fierce competition, with many places leased within hours of being advertised, and before the scheduled inspection.
Ms Hartmann says listing are gone before she can schedule a viewing. Photo: Tertius Pickard
“What I’m finding is you can register for an inspection and then when you show up they cancel the inspection because they’ve already rented the property,” Ms Hartmann said.
“Rental prices have increased and I think that it is causing problems because people have already been financially affected by COVID.
“There is definitely a lot less available now,” she said.
Rental vacancies on the Gold Coast hit a record low of 0.9 per cent in the December 2020 quarter, according to data from the Real Estate Institute of Queensland (REIQ).
With the Gold Coast just behind the Sunshine Coast as the most popular destination for interstate migration, agents say competition is so fierce that people are offering up to $200 a week more than the advertised rental.
Homes are being snapped up in every suburb, even tourism-driven Surfers Paradise which was the hardest hit during the pandemic, recording more than 2,100 vacant rentals at its peak nine months ago.
5/22 Magnoli Circuit, Palm Beach, is for rent at $950 a week, with a bond of $3,800 through Jack Littlejohn of Realty Blue, Mermaid Beach.
With current vacancy rates sitting at 0.7 per cent, the rental market in Surfers Paradise has defied earlier forecasts, rebounding to the tightest levels since pre-COVID.
REIQ chief executive Antonia Mercorella said suburbs across the wider Gold Coast region have also hit all-time lows, with a a median vacancy of just 0.3 per cent in the city’s south, and 0.6 per cent in the north.
Northern suburbs where tenancies are particularly tight include Oxenford (0.1 per cent), Runaway Bay (0.5 per cent), Arundel (0.6 per cent), Labrador (0.7 per cent), and Southport (0.7 per cent).
In the south, rental vacancies have plunged in Miami (0.2 per cent), Palm Beach (0.3 per cent), Currumbin (0.3 per cent), Varsity Lakes (0.6 per cent) and Broadbeach (0.8 per cent).
10 Neri Crescent, Arundel, can be rented for $650 a week and $2,600 bond through Gemma White of the Professionals.
Ms Hartmann said the stress of trying to find a home had taken a toll on her family, particularly her elder daughter who is autistic.
“The impact this has had on me and on my kids has been very difficult,” she said.
“I’m very grateful to have my parents, but they retired at the end of last year and that wasn’t planned either, so now they need to sell their house and downsize.
“We are ready to have our own place. It’s stressful and it’s exhausting,”
Ms Hartmann, a domestic violence survivor and coach who works women and clients with a disability or mental health issues, said she had decided to homeschool her girls, so they weren’t limited to living close to their school.
Ms Hartmann lost her job when COVID hit, and despite successfully rebuilding her own business has found her self-employed status to be a hindrance in securing a lease.
Real Estate Institute of Queensland chief executive Antonia Mercorella.
Local real estate agents have been swamped with inquiries, with demand from returning expats in particular pushing up rentals for high-end properties up to an average of $2,000 a week.
Kollosche business development manager Katie Dalton said competition between locals, interstate migrants looking to ‘try before they buy’ and expats returning home had created a perfect storm for the rental sector.
“We’re fielding plenty of inquiry from Sydney and Melbourne residents just wanting to get a roof over their head in Queensland and get a feel for the area before they buy,” Ms Dalton said.
“A large part of the rental market right now is locals who have sold and either can’t buy another house or prefer to rent until prices drop. In many cases, we’re working with our agents to match vendors to rental properties before they even hit the market.”
2/102 Jefferson Lane in Palm Beach is for rent for $1350 a week through Karen Pike of Ray White.
Ms Mercorella said the dramatic decline in rental stock could not be sustained without State intervention to encourage property investment.
“What we’re seeing is an unprecedented level of diminishing rental availability that’s placing significant pressure on our State’s housing sector – so much so that it’s unsustainable and why urgent action is required to better support both increased and ongoing property investor activity in the Queensland property market and the contributions they make to the state economy,” said Ms Mercorella.
41 Hillridge Crescent, Varsity Lakes, is for rent for $950 a week and $3750 bond through RE/MAX Regency
“Every Queenslander should have access to a safe, secure and affordable home that meets their needs and supports them.
“That’s why the Palaszczuk Government should consider abolishing stamp duty. It’s the most significant barrier to home ownership, discouraging housing turnover, restricting mobility and property investment – something we desperately require,” she said.
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