Being a renter has never been more difficult, thanks to record low vacancy rates and skyrocketing rents. It’s also becoming difficult to be an investor.
, due to insecure tenure and an inability for renters to make the house a home, through having pets or making minor alterations.Renting is not just insecure and unaffordable – for many, just finding a property to lease is increasingly difficult. Even some federal politicians, despite their salaries and clout, are not immune to those struggles.
The lack of social housing has forced more people into the private rental market, leading to a rapid rise in rents and a dramatic constriction of supply as renters compete for properties. Over 2022 rents grew by 4 per cent, the biggest rate in a decade. Despite the soaring rental prices, the market is also dysfunctional for the ordinary Australians who make up the bulk of the country’s landlords. Most of them only own one or two properties, says Pexa chief economist Julie Toth.
“If we look overseas, in France, around about 97 per cent of rental accommodation is provided by institutional investors such as superannuation companies. In the US that figure is about 87 per cent. In Australia, we’re very close to zero,” he says.