The surprisingly expensive cities to rent a house in Australia after Sydney – and it’s NOT Melbourne

Move over Melbourne: Why Hobart is now one of Australia’s most expensive places – despite being only the 12th biggest city

  • Hobart has overtaken Melbourne to be Australia’s third dearest rental market
  • CoreLogic has revealed the Tasmanian capital has a median rent of $464 a week 
  • Only Sydney ($571 a week) and Canberra ($538) are more expensive for a lease 

A small city in Australia is now one of the nation’s most expensive places for renters.

Hobart has overtaken Melbourne to be the third-most expensive place to lease a house or apartment, real estate data group CoreLogic has revealed.

With a median rent of $464 a week, the Tasmanian capital is now Australia’s third most expensive market for tenants, after Sydney and Canberra, despite only being the nation’s 12th biggest city.

A small city in Australia is now one of the nation’s most expensive places for renters. Hobart (pictured) has overtaken Melbourne to be the third most expensive place to lease a house or apartment, real estate data group CoreLogic has revealed

By comparison, Sydney’s equivalent rent stands at $571 a week, putting it ahead of Canberra’s $538 during the September quarter.

Melbourne has moved into fourth place with with a median weekly rent of $457 which is only marginally more than Darwin’s $453 and Brisbane’s $435. 

Bottoming out the list are Perth ($389) and Adelaide ($386).

Separate data from SQM Research also showed Hobart had Australia’s tightest rental vacancy rate of just 0.6 per cent in September. 

That is only a fraction of Sydney’s 3.2 per cent and Melbourne’s two per cent.

Hobart’s rental vacancy rate was even tighter than Canberra’s one per cent, despite have a population of little more than 222,000. 

Melbourne has moved into fourth place with with a median weekly rent of $457 which is only marginally more than Darwin's $453 and Brisbane's $435

Melbourne has moved into fourth place with with a median weekly rent of $457 which is only marginally more than Darwin’s $453 and Brisbane’s $435

How much are you paying for rent?

Sydney: $571 a week

Canberra: $538 a week

Hobart: $464 a week 

Melbourne: $457 a week

Darwin: $453 

Brisbane: $435 a week

Perth: $389 a week

Adelaide: $386

Source: CoreLogic median weekly rents for the September quarter of 2019  

 

During the past year, Hobart’s apartment rents have surged by 11.7 per cent to $403.60 a week.

Despite that, property investors appear to be favouring Brisbane.

A Property Investment Professionals of Australia online survey released this month found 44 per cent of respondent saw the Queensland capital as having the best long-term prospects.

It was well ahead of Melbourne, nominated by 27 per cent of surveyed investors, and Sydney, the first choice of 14 per cent of would-be landlords. 

Daniel Walsh, the founder of the Your Property Your Wealth buyers’ agent, said Brisbane offered the best prospects for investors by virtue of having strong population growth and new transport infrastructure projects.

‘The Brisbane property market has a history of sustainable growth – often stimulated by strong interstate migration,’ he told Daily Mail Australia.

‘Over the past decade, house prices have increased but not in a dramatic way like in southern capitals.

‘The thing is savvy investors have been buying in the Sunshine State capital for a few years now.’

By comparison, Sydney's equivalent rent stands at $571 a week, putting it ahead of Canberra's $538 during the September quarter

By comparison, Sydney’s equivalent rent stands at $571 a week, putting it ahead of Canberra’s $538 during the September quarter

Read more at DailyMail.co.uk