Data shows Qld’s rental squeeze and population surge collide


Sophie Foster

Updated 19 Jan 2023, 8:36am

First published 19 Jan 2023, 1:00am

New data shows the number of Brisbane homes for rent shrank by 17.8 per cent last year, with fresh analysis finding some areas absorbed as much as 14,000 new residents during the pandemic.

The latest PropTrack Rental Report, out Thursday, found the rental crisis worsening as limited supply and strong demand continued to push rental prices higher in Brisbane.

It found the total number of Brisbane properties listed for rent on realestate.com.au fell by 17.8 per cent in the past year – at a time when demand rose by 11.5 per cent.

Combined, those two factors drove up rental prices by 11.4 per cent year-on-year in Brisbane, PropTrack economic research director Cameron Kusher found, with regional Qld seeing some easing though rents still grew 7.8 per cent there.

“With low volumes of stock available for rent at a time when demand for rentals is strong and is likely to increase further, we expect the market to remain extremely challenging for renters,” he said.

Quarterly data showed median weekly advertised rents flatlined in Brisbane over the three months to December, and fell by 1 per cent in Qld regions, “something to monitor over the coming months”.

“While some of the pressures evident in regional rental markets in recent years appear to be easing, the market continues to tighten in the major capital cities,” he said.

“With people now returning to capital cities and overseas migration lifting, it looks as if it will only become more difficult to rent a property in the capitals during 2023.”

The data comes as KPMG analysis, also out Thursday, found Qld’s population grew at the fastest rate in the country last year (2.1 per cent), with one Brisbane area absorbing over 14,000 new residents during the Covid-19 pandemic years, swelling to 24,000 for one part of the coast.

KPMG demographics expert Terry Rawnsley found 238,000 more residents were added in Queensland between 2019 and 2022 – only slightly less than the previous three years (253,000), with Greater Brisbane seeing no fall in its growth thanks to massive interstate migration.

Areas with detached housing were seeing the biggest rises, he said, with Ormeau-Oxenford making the national top four fastest growing regions list – topping Queensland with 24,500 more residents between 2019-2022, a rise of 5.3 per cent. Springfield-Redbank was ranked 10th nationally and second in Qld with 14,300 more residents over the three year period.

link to original story – https://www.realestate.com.au/news/data-shows-qlds-rental-squeeze-and-population-surge-collide/