Hobart becomes Australia's most unaffordable city

The Rental Affordability Index found Hobart to be Australia’s least affordable city
The study looks at price of rents nationwide relative to household incomes
Households in Hobart spend 29 per cent of their gross median income on rent
Sydney households meanwhile spend 27 per cent of their income on rent
Perth overtook Canberra as Australia’s most affordable city at 21 per cent

By Gavin Butler For Daily Mail Australia

Published: 02:24 BST, 23 May 2018 | Updated: 15:52 BST, 23 May 2018

Hobart has been named the least affordable Australian city for tenants, after report found the gap between rental prices and wages to be the widest in the country.

The biannual Rental Affordability Index, which looks at price of rents nationwide relative to household incomes, found that tenants in the Tasmanian capital spent 29 per cent of their gross median income on rent at the end of last year.

Households are considered to be in housing stress if they spend 30 per cent or more of their income on rent, The Australian Financial Review reports.

Hobart (pictured) has been declared the least affordable Australian city for tenants, after a recent report found households spending spent 29 per cent of their gross median income on rent

This ranks Hobart above Sydney’s (pictured) notoriously unforgiving rental market, which showed signs of easing with tenants spending 27 per cent of their income on rent

This ranks Hobart above Sydney’s notoriously unforgiving rental market, which followed closely behind on the RAI with tenants spending 27 per cent of their income on rent.

The index also indicated that rental affordability eased slightly in Sydney, however, as the average proportion spent on rent decreased from 29 per cent six months earlier.

That isn’t to say that Hobart rental prices are necessarily comparable to those in Sydney, but rather that low-income growth in the area has widened the gap between how much tenants pay and how much they bank.

Sydney’s gross median income sits at $98,500, compared to Hobart’s $61,300.

As rental prices increase, low income growth in Hobart has widened the gap between how much tenants pay and how much they bank

Perth overtook Canberra as Australia’s most affordable city for renting tenants: decreasing from 23 per cent to 21 per cent of gross median income spent on rent

Meanwhile, Perth overtook Canberra as Australia’s most affordable city: decreasing from 23 per cent to 21 per cent of gross median income spent on rent.

Melbourne and Brisbane’s overall rental affordability remained static at 24 and 25 per cent, respectively.

The Rental Affordability Index study is published every six months by National Shelter Community Sector Banking and SGS Economics and Planning.