Melbourne rental market: Suburbs with biggest price rises and fallson 15/08/2021 at 12:00 AM

590 Dunns Creek Rd, Dromana, is on the rental market for $900 per week.

Rents have swelled as much as 50 per cent annually in Melbourne’s tenant hot spots, with sea and tree-change areas leading the field.

But realestate.com.au research also shows tenants are paying hundreds of dollars a week less than they were a year ago in blue-chip house markets like Canterbury and East Melbourne, and university-adjacent unit markets including Box Hill South and Carlton.

REA Group director of economic research Cameron Kusher said Covid-19 had created a two-speed rental sector by boosting demand for “lifestyle properties” while slashing the tenant pool for inner-city abodes.

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31 Bryson St, Canterbury, is seeking a tenant for $1050 per week – but the listing says the price is “negotiable”.

“Generally speaking, the Melbourne rental market has been weak, but it’s very much in pockets,” he said.

“The inner-city apartment market is struggling (due to) the impact of closed borders both domestically and internationally.

“But outer suburbs have been really strong, (particularly) on the Mornington Peninsula, which talks to the fact people are looking for lifestyle.”

The research shows Canterbury and East Melbourne houses have taken the biggest hit, with typical weekly rents in both suburbs shedding about 35 per cent, or more than $400 per week, annually.

Houses in Ormond, Toorak, Princes Hill and Brighton, and units in Box Hill South, Caulfield East, Carlton, and Melbourne, also experienced declines of more than 20 per cent.

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The weekly asking rent for Lvl 9/408 Lonsdale St, Melbourne, has been cut to $330, with the first week free.

On the flip side, the median weekly rent for McCrae houses soared almost 42 per cent annually to $585, with Safety Beach, Diamond Creek, Croydon North, Dromana and Mt Eliza also notching big gains.

Ashburton was the best-performing unit market, rising 51.5 per cent to $750.

OBrien Mornington property manager Lucie Olivier said she had seen tenancy applications for many Peninsula properties “triple” since the pandemic struck, leading to price rises and homes flying off the shelves.

“Previously, it would take about three weeks to lease a property – now, it’s taking no more than a week, as long as the property is priced right and presented well,” she said.

142 Nangathan Way can be rented for $540 per week in Croydon North, where rents have risen annually.

Ms Olivier said access to the beach, wineries and attractions like the Peninsula Hot Springs, plus the ability to rent a house with a backyard at a cheaper rate, were luring tenants from inner Melbourne.
Stacey and Jesse Fallowfield sold up in Truganina to move into a Mornington rental last year.

Ms Fallowfield said finding a rental was “competitive” – and had only become harder, with Mornington units now renting for 20.7 per cent more than a year ago – but they wanted to “check out the area before purchasing”.

They’ve now bought a house in nearby Safety Beach for themselves, 17-month-old daughter Stella and their baby on the way, to consolidate “the best decision we ever made”.

“We love it down here,” she said. “Having a big backyard and knowing our neighbours well has brought back all the memories from my childhood. I wanted that for my children.”

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samantha.landy@news.com.au

MELBOURNE RENTAL MARKETS

House – biggest annual increase in weekly rents

McCrae: up 41.82% from $413 at July 31, 2020 to $585 at July 31, 2021

Safety Beach: 27.45%, $510 to $650

Diamond Creek: 22.09%, $430 to $525

Croydon North: 20.88%, $455 to $550

Dromana: 19.51%, $410 to $490

Mt Eliza: 19.5%, $795 to $950

Whittlesea: 18.31%, $355 to $420

Rosebud 17.81%, $365 to $430

Emerald: 17.65%, $468 to $550

Botanic Ridge: 17.5%, $400 to $470

House – biggest decrease in weekly rents

Canterbury: down 35.42% from $1200 at July 31, 2020 to $775 at July 31, 2021

East Melbourne: 34.62%, $1300 to $850

Ormond: 26.06%, $710 to $525

Toorak: 25%, $1400 to $1050

Princes Hill: 20.67%, $750 to $595

Brighton: 20.2%, $1250 to $997.50

South Melbourne: 19.21%, $755 to $610

Strathmore: 19.17% $600 to $485

Parkville: 18.18%. $1100 to $900

Oakleigh: -18%, $600 to $492

Unit – biggest increase in weekly rents

Ashburton: up 51.52% from $495 at July 31, 2020 to $750 at July 31, 2021

Rosebud West: 29.23%, $325 to $420

Aberfeldie: 26.92%, $390 to $495

Croydon North: 25.49%, $383 to $480

Mornington: 20.73%, $410 to $495

Dromana: 16.22%, $370 to $430

Carrum: 15%, $400 to $460

Watsonia: 13.16%, $380 to $430

Mt Eliza: 11.54%, $390 to $435

Seddon: 11.43%, $350 to $390

Unit – biggest decrease in weekly rents

Box Hill South: down 31.11%, from $450 at July 31, 2020 to $310 at July 31, 2021

Caulfield East: 26.74%, $430 to $315

Carlton: 25.56%, $450 to $335

Melbourne (postcode 3000): 25%, $500 to $375

Docklands: 23.64%, $550 to $420

Middle Park: 23.08%, $487.50 to $375

Ivanhoe East: 21.05%, $570 to $450

Caulfield South: 20.77%, $517.50 to $410

West Melbourne: 20%, $475 to $380

South Melbourne: 19.2%, $526 to $425

Source: realestate.com.au

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Rents are soaring in Melbourne’s lifestyle havens, but tenants are saving hundreds in blue-chip house and inner-city unit markets. SEE THE LISTS.
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