More concern at rocketing rents

Torquay, the Bellarine and Geelong have dominated a new list of priciest regional rental locations as housing advocates renew calls for greater government investment to tackle the rental crisis.

The Victorian government’s Department of Families, Fairness and Housing (DHHF) has released its June quarter Rental Report, which showed local towns and suburbs were clearly the most expensive to rent in outside of Melbourne.

A typical three-bedroom house cost $580 a week in Torquay during the quarter and $520 at Ocean Grove/Barwon Heads.

Most Geelong suburbs were above $400, with Newtown the most expensive at $480.

Statistics for two-bedroom flats showed a similar trend: Torquay was most expensive with a $450 median weekly asking price, followed by Ocean Grove-Barwon Heads ($415) and Geelong-Newcomb ($395).

Castlemaine was the next most expensive area outside of greater Geleong and the Surf Coast for both three-bedroom houses ($440 a week) and two-bedroom units ($343).

Across the state, regional Victoria’s rent index – DFFH’s metric for calculating rent increases while accounting for location and type of new listings – went up a further 1.3 per cent in the quarter and 8.9 per cent in the year to June.

Council to Homeless Persons (CHP) chief executive officer Jenny Smith said the rising figures highlighted urgency for government intervention.

“Renters are on the front line of Victoria’s cost of living crisis.

“More renters are being pushed into homelessness because they can’t find a rental they can afford.

“Homelessness services are overwhelmed with people desperate for a home, and too many Victorians in urgent need of homelessness support, are missing out.

“Government can end homelessness by providing more support to respond to people needing help, and by fixing the fundamental problem of lack of affordable rentals.”

CHP has called for political parties to commit to providing 6,000 new social housing properties in Victoria every year for the next 10 years to tackle the affordability crisis and ease pressure on homelessness services.