PropertyBuzz, your daily dose of property news.
The Gap Between House and Unit Rents shrinks, Why Raiding Your Retirement Savings for a Home Deposit isn’t worth it, and which state’s rental crisis is the worst?
Welcome to Property Buzz! I’m Grace Ormsby
Today is Wednesday, 13 March.
and Rental costs in Australia’s three largest cities – Greater Sydney, Greater Melbourne, and Greater Brisbane – are rapidly changing, according to a report by MCG Quantity Surveyors.
– The cost differential between houses and units is narrowing due to the increased popularity of units, which have become more appealing to renters in recent years.
– The report found that rents for both houses and units have risen significantly in all three cities, with unit rents seeing a particularly sharp increase due to their relative affordability and central locations.
From another report, New modelling by the Super Members Council suggests that allowing first homeowners to use their super for house deposits could increase property prices by nearly $75,000 in Australia’s largest cities.
– The SMC modelled a scheme allowing first home buyers to withdraw $50,000 from their super for a deposit, which resulted in a surge in housing demand that overwhelmed the available funds.
– The scheme could also lead to higher age pension costs and taxes due to a decrease in super.
And back to rentals, and it’s no surprise Australia’s rental market is in crisis, with a national vacancy rate of 1.4 per cent and average rental increase of more than 10 per cent over the past 12 months.
Across the country, the average cost of rent is more than 30 per cent of income to be dedicated to rent.
– Western Australia is experiencing the highest levels of rental stress, with a 16 per cent average rental increase over the year and a vacancy rate of just 1.1 per cent.
– Queensland and South Australia have also seen significant rental increases, with tenants spending over 30% of their income on rent. NSW and Victoria also scored above the national average.
– Suburbtrends founder Kent Lardner suggests exploring alternatives like prefabrication technology and mobile home villages to provide more affordable housing options and address the rental crisis.
That’s Property Buzz for today.
See you again tomorrow, 14 March, for your daily dose of Property Buzz.
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