RENTS are still climbing across most pockets of Australia and nudging more tenants towards an affordability tipping point.<\/p>\n
Two separate datasets on the rental market showed rents lifting across most capital cities and combined regions.<\/p>\n
Property data firm CoreLogic recorded a 2.5 per cent lift in national rents over the June quarter to be 9.7 per cent higher than 12 months ago.<\/p>\n
Domain\u2019s chief of research and economics Nicola Powell said the “rental pressure cooker” had not gone away, with strong population growth colliding with a slowdown in home building.<\/p>\n
Dr Powell said more renters were finding themselves stuck in the rental market longer as buying a home remains out of reach.<\/p>\n
“With a number of factors at play, there needs to be a seismic shift in supply to address the challenges being faced,” she said.<\/p>\n
Everybody’s Home spokesperson Maiy Azize said renters were struggling and more and more were at risk of reaching an “affordability cliff”.<\/p>\n
“Cutting back on meals, medicines and heating are becoming terrifying realities for many tenants as they try to keep up with eye-watering rents,” Ms Azize said.<\/p>\n
She also said the housing crisis was also stopping people starting families and making other major life changes.<\/p>\n
But the ultra-competitive rental market is showing early signs of losing steam, with vacancy rates ticking up from record lows.<\/p>\n
Dr Powell said several factors could be driving up vacancy rates, including more flat-sharing and larger households, as well as more tenants opting for more affordable locations or property types.<\/p>\n
But with rents still stubbornly high, housing affordability groups remain worried about the wellbeing of renters.<\/p>\n
Ms Azize said limiting unfair rent hikes and building more affordable and social housing was the only way to end the crisis.<\/p>\n