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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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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