Hundreds of capital city suburbs see falling rents amid national increases

Rental prices have decreased in hundreds of suburbs across Australia’s capital cities over the past year, bucking the national trend of rising rents.

PropTrack data shows that while the national median rental price has increased by 5% to $630 per week over the past 12 months, house rents have fallen or remained static in 264 suburbs across capital cities.

In the unit market, 142 suburbs recorded flat or declining rents during the same period.

REA Group senior economist Anne Flaherty said rent growth had accelerated in early 2025 after slowing late last year.

“The speed at which rents are rising has picked up over the first three months of 2025, reversing the trend of slowing rent growth seen late last year,” Ms Flaherty said.

“Despite this, rent growth remains well below the peak levels seen over 2022 and 2023.”

Sydney recorded the highest number of suburbs with declining rents, while Perth and Adelaide had the fewest.

The largest house rent decreases were recorded in Forresters Beach on the NSW Central Coast, where median weekly rents fell 13.4% to $693, followed by Wooloowin in Brisbane’s inner north (down 11.8% to $750) and Hunters Hill on Sydney’s lower north shore (down 11.6% to $1300).

For units, North Hobart experienced the steepest decline with a 15.5% drop to $493 per week, while nearby Hobart fell 9.6%. Sydney’s inner west suburb of Enmore saw unit rents decrease by 13.3% to $520.

Some suburbs recorded significant dollar-value reductions, with 14 suburbs seeing house rents drop by $100 or more weekly and nine suburbs experiencing unit rent declines of at least $50 per week.

The most substantial house rent decreases occurred in already expensive Sydney suburbs, including Vaucluse (down $200 to $3000 weekly), Hunters Hill (down $170 to $1300) and Sylvania Waters (down $150 to $1300).

For renters, these reductions can represent substantial annual savings. A $50 weekly rent reduction equates to $2600 saved annually, while a $100 weekly drop saves $5200 per year.

Despite these decreases, rising rents remain the norm across most markets. House rents increased by 10% or more in 395 capital city suburbs, while unit rents rose by the same amount in 211 suburbs, with Perth, Sydney and Melbourne recording most of these significant increases.

The data highlighted the substantial gap between Australia’s two largest cities, with Sydney remaining the most expensive rental market at $750 per week compared to Melbourne at $575.

“Compared with Melbourne, a renter in Sydney is typically paying $9,100 more per year in rent,” Ms Flaherty said.

Melbourne had notably fewer suburbs where rents declined compared to Sydney, with just 25 suburbs for houses and eight for units experiencing decreases.

The REA Group Rental Affordability Report released last month showed rental affordability reaching a new low nationally as rent growth outpaces income increases, though conditions were somewhat better in Victoria.

Looking ahead, Flaherty indicated that rent growth would likely continue throughout 2025, albeit at a more moderate pace than seen during the peak of the rental crisis.