RENTERS seeking to live in a particular Gold Coast suburb are having to reasses their options due to severely tight vacancy rates, and landlords pushing up rents by 17 per cent.
Data from Well Home Loans identified several locations where tight vacancy rates and high rents were stopping would-be tenants from moving in.
Among a list of the most inaccessible rental suburbs in the state, Coolangatta came out as one of the worst affected.
2/10 Simpson Street, Coolangatta, is available to rent for $950 a week and a $3,800 bond through Marie Curtis of LJ Hooker
According to the data, which looked only at suburbs with an established rental market, the vacancy rate in this popular surfing spot is just 0.12 per cent, despite a total of 4,654 properties in the rental pool. On top of this, affordability is also stretched with existing tenants paying $95 more a week in rent than they did at the same time last year, according to the research.
Yesterday there were a only 10 properties listed for rent in Coolangatta on realestate.com.au, which did not have an application pending or approved, with prices ranging from $490 to $950 a week. All of them were apartments.
Well Home Loans CEO Scott Spencer.
If you’re thinking of moving in, act fast as the Well data shows properties in Coolangatta are snapped up after just 14 days.
Merrimac, near Robina, had the next tightest vacancy rate at just 0.14 per cent of 1,771 homes and units available to rent in the suburb. Tenants here also pay $95 more a week now than a year ago, with properties only taking an average of 13 days to find a tenant.
This family home at 14 Entry Drive Merrimac is for rent for $1,100 a week and a $4,400 bond through Gold Coast Property
There are only six properties currently available in this suburb on realestate.com.au, but families have a higher chance of finding something to suit their needs, with townhouses and family-size homes among the limited mix. The rents range from $530 a week for a two-bedroom apartment to $1,100 a week for a four-bedroom home.
The other inaccessible suburbs on Well Home Loan’s list were Currumbin Waters, 0.28 per cent vacancy rate and an annual rent rises of $120 a week; Highland Park, 0.3 per cent vacancy and $125 a week rise; Reedy Creek, 0.3 per cent and $120; Tamborine Mountain, 0.34 per cent and $55; Bilinga, 0.4 per cent and $145; and Maudsland, 0.95 per cent and $55.
Well Home Loans CEO Scott Spencer said landlords were in a strong position and tenants at their mercy.
Cameron Kusher, REA Group’s PropTrack director economic research.
“All the suburbs are in wider areas with very low vacancy rates, so even if tenants were prepared to move one or two suburbs along, they would still find it hard to secure accommodation,” Mr Spencer said. “That gives investors considerable market power.”
According to REA Group’s PropTrack report, median rents nationally have risen by 4.7 per cent over the past year.
30 Chippendale Crescent, Currumbin Waters, has four bedrooms and is $750 a week with a $3000 bond through the First National Property Management team
But the group’s director of economic research, Cameron Kusher, said regional communities were under the most pressure, with rents on the Gold Coast rising a hefty 17 per cent over the past 12 months.
He said this was due to the downward trend for new listings and an influx of people seeking to move away from metropolitan areas – partly due to Covid.
However, he said the situation could start to ease this year if international migration returns which will lure people back to city hubs and ease the pressure on regional areas.
Lisa Hughes
