Rent prices have grown substantially four years on from the start of the pandemic, with heightened demand and shortfalls in supply more than doubling rents in some suburbs since March 2020.
According to new data from PropTrack, national median weekly advertised rents have risen from $420 to $550 in the past four years — a 31% increase from the beginning of the pandemic.
The surge in rent prices can be attributed to strong population growth in the past few years as well as a shortage in the number of available homes.
From September 2022 to 2023 alone, Australia's population grew by a substantial 660,000 while new home approvals and construction are currently tracking below the target set by the federal government last August, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
While rents have risen in many areas due to these factors, some have experienced extreme increases since March 2020.
A deep dive into data on the suburbs with the largest growth in median advertised weekly rent over the past four years reveals that Nickol and Kambalda East in outback Western Australia had the most substantial rent increases for houses.
Weekly rents soared by 118% in Nickol to hit $1200, while the median rent in Kambalda East jumped 113% to $340.
| Suburb | State | Region (SA4) | Median advertised weekly rent | % change since the pandemic |
| Nickol | WA | Western Australia - Outback (North) | $1,200 | 118% |
| Kambalda East | WA | Western Australia - Outback (South) | $340 | 113% |
| Pegs Creek | WA | Western Australia - Outback (North) | $950 | 111% |
| South Hedland | WA | Western Australia - Outback (North) | $780 | 105% |
| Bulgarra | WA | Western Australia - Outback (North) | $915 | 103% |
| Millars Well | WA | Western Australia - Outback (North) | $900 | 100% |
| Port Hedland | WA | Western Australia - Outback (North) | $1,200 | 100% |
| Agnes Water | QLD | Central Queensland | $650 | 97% |
| Armadale | WA | Perth - South East | $480 | 92% |
| Doonan | QLD | Sunshine Coast | $1,200 | 92% |
Houses in Pegs Creek and South Hedland were not far behind, with rents now 111% and 105% higher respectively than in March 2020.
Agnes Water in Central Queensland had the sunshine state's biggest rent rise, with a 97% increase over the same period.
South Hedland and Pegs Creek also featured in the top rent growth suburbs for units, with rents surging by 100% and 90% respectively since the beginning of the pandemic. This was the highest among all suburbs in the country.
| Suburb | State | Region (SA4) | Median advertised weekly rent | % change since the pandemic |
| South Hedland | WA | Western Australia - Outback (North) | $650 | 100% |
| Pegs Creek | WA | Western Australia - Outback (North) | $1000 | 90% |
| Port Hedland | WA | Western Australia - Outback (North) | $750 | 88% |
| Bulgarra | WA | Western Australia - Outback (North) | $595 | 86% |
| Tannum Sands | QLD | Central Queensland | $330 | 83% |
| Orelia | WA | Perth - South West | $365 | 83% |
| Kelmscott | WA | Perth - South East | $450 | 80% |
| Armadale | WA | Perth - South East | $450 | 80% |
| Balga | WA | Perth - North West | $500 | 79% |
| Yokine | WA | Perth - North West | $500 | 79% |
Port Hedland and Bulgarra in outback WA experienced strong growth in their weekly rent prices as well. It now costs $750 and $595 to rent units in these suburbs which is 88% and 86% more than March 2020.
A large share of these top rent growth suburbs were located in regional WA and this is likely due to the huge demand driven by the surge in the mining industry over 2022 and 2023 following the rise in prices of commodities like iron ore.
The demand for properties still remains strong which is reflected in rental vacancies in regional WA being approximately two percentage points lower than pre-pandemic levels.
Rent prices in a number of Perth suburbs have also increased substantially over the past four years. This is unsurprising given that rental vacancy rates have remained around or below 1% during this period which is lower than most other cities. Perth currently has the second smallest share of properties available for rent across all capitals at 0.86%.
Rental market conditions are expected to remain challenging, as the demand for properties persists at an elevated level. Prices are likely to trend up even further as new supply falls short and current supply is unable to meet the growing demand.
