Rental affordability is somewhat stable in Brisbane but, like Melbourne, remains at record lows, a new report says.
The 11th annual National Shelter-SGS Economics and Planning Rental Affordability Index links rents to incomes; it found Brisbane’s affordability fell 2% in 12 months after a 24% drop from 2020-24.
Brisbane’s median weekly rent of $643 now takes up 29% of the median household income, up from 22% five years ago.
This puts even moderate-income earners on the cusp of rental stress.
The report says that for a single pensioner, rents are ‘critically unaffordable’.
The situation is not much better for pensioner couples, single people on benefits or single part-time worker parents on benefits; they all face ‘extremely unaffordable’ rents that can take 50-70% of their income.
OUTSIDE BRISBANE
Regional Queensland is the most unaffordable in the country, the report also says: affordability fell 3% over the past year to a record low.
“It’s encouraging that rental affordability is stabilising for some income groups in Queensland but while some green shoots are finally showing, affordability still remains at record lows, hitting people on low incomes the hardest,” says Q Shelter CEO Fiona Caniglia.
“We also know that rental stock availability remains very low, with the state’s vacancy rate stagnant at 1%.
“Low-income households are most impacted by this, and key workers and families who have never struggled before are now at risk of homelessness,” she says.
Q Shelter says rent increases should be limited to inflation to prevent excessive hikes that push households into housing stress.
“We need to incentivise long-term rentals, such as affordable Build-To-Rent, to diversify the rental market and reduce our reliance on mum-and-dad investors, who provide the majority of rental properties,” Caniglia says.
“ The Queensland Government should continue investing in tenancy sustainment programs to help renters keep their homes and support broader housing system reforms.”
Ellen Witte Principal at SGS Economics & Planning said: “Rental affordability has stabilised in Brisbane amid supply chain constraints and a fall in interstate migration.
“However, most areas across the city are ‘moderately unaffordable’ to ‘unaffordable’, particularly inner Brisbane and coastal suburbs,” she says.
“Renters must look as far as Ipswich or Logan City, at least 10km from the CBD, to find ‘acceptable’ rental options.”
The report found a full-time hospitality worker would have to pay 41% of their weekly income for a one-bedroom apartment in Brisbane.
OTHER CITIES
Hobart’s affordability falling
Perth rated more expensive
Rental affordability eases nationally
