Hobart has been revealed as the second least-affordable city in Australia – behind only Sydney.
That’s according to new data from the biannual Rental Affordability Index (RAI).
New figures show affordability in the Tasmanian city has fallen to its lowest level since September 2012, with the average household spending almost 30 per cent of its income on rent.
Tasmania’s Hobart (pictured) has been revealed as the second least-affordable city in Australia
Such prices dramatically affect the most vulnerable in society – pensioners and students – and latest RAI figures shows how low-income households are unable to live in metropolitan areas.
Huon Valley resident and SGS Economics & Planning partner Ellen Witte told The Mercury that many are struggling to afford essential items such as food or transport.
‘For a part-time working single parent, they would pay 43 per cent of their income on rent. That is well over the threshold of 30 per cent, which is the tipping point between moderate housing stress and unaffordable rent.
‘At that point, you would have less ability to pay for food, transport, education and medical needs,’ she said.
Sandy Bay (pictured) rental prices among the highest, making it one of the most unaffordable
The index is an indicator of rental costs relative to household incomes.
It found Battery Point (7004) was greater Hobart’s least affordable postcode, followed by Sandy Bay, Dynnyrne (7005), Grasstree Hill, Otago, Honeywood, Old Beach (7017), Taroona, Bonnet Hill (7053) and South Hobart (7004).
People renting houses in these suburbs are spending up to 36 per cent of their income on rent.
The median gross income for rental households in greater Hobart is around $61,000 a year, and this puts these suburbs into the report’s ‘unaffordable’ category.
Real Estate Institute of Tasmania president Tony Collidge told the publication: ‘I am disappointed by the delays in planning approvals for commercial developments that could help alleviate some of the rental shortage in the inner-city areas.
People renting in Battery Point (pictured) are spending 36 per cent of their income on rent