About one out of every four households in Western Australia is a rental property, representing approximately 180,000
dwellings.
One of the myths in housing is that the proportion of renters is growing, however the data challenges this. In WA the proportion of renters has been reasonably steady at around 28 per cent of all households for over a decade. Although, there is a change occurring in the mix of private and public housing tenants with the proportion of private sector tenants growing. This is one of the reasons why the proportion of unoccupied rental properties, or vacancy rate, seems very low.
Most rental properties are located in the inner suburbs of cities and towns. In Perth for example, over 75 per cent of all rental properties are located within a 15 kilometer radius of the city centre. The suburbs with the highest concentration are East Perth, Karawarra, West Perth, Northbridge, Highgate, Bentley, Glendalough and Victoria Park. Rental properties can account for up to 70 per cent of all dwellings in these areas.
Another housing myth is that most tenants live in flats or units. In fact, the results from the 2001 census found that almost 60 per cent of tenants live in traditional houses, however this census also found that most flats and apartments are used as rental properties.
In WA the most common age group for renters is the 20 – 34 demographic. Typically, these are people who are in transition to home ownership. Not surprisingly then, the most common home ownership and home buying age group is the 34 – 44 age group.
Most tenants prefer a short lease, with the more common lease being six months. Tenants clearly like the flexibility of a short lease, however more than half of all such leases are renewed for a further six months when the lease expires.
The median rent for accommodation in Perth is now $330 per week if you include units, apartments and houses in the equation. Houses alone are generally higher with a median of around $335 per week. Rents in Perth have grown by almost 16 per cent over the last year due to demand.
Darwin is the most expensive city in which to rent, with a median price for a three bedroom house of $490 per week. This is followed by Canberra on $385 per week, with Perth coming third. The average rent for three bedroom homes across all our capital cities is $337 per week.
With a significant number of sellers deciding to sit on their properties for a bit longer in this slow market, REIWA anticipates that a flush of new homes into the rental system will help ease vacancy rates and median rents through to the New Year.
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