Renters in capital and regional cities are likely to end up paying more this year, as the market becomes increasingly tight and in favour of landlords.

Propertyology’s latest report identified 58 cities where rents for a standard house are likely to rise by at least $5,000 this year.

Four of these cities are state capitals, including Adelaide, Brisbane, Canberra, and Perth.

The rest are regional cities, which are currently experiencing an undersupply in rental properties.

Propertyology head of research Simon Pressley said the undersupply being felt across Australia’s rental markets is the “worst ever.”

“For perspective, the total national population increased by 1.5 million over the last five years, so one would expect a significant increase in the total volume of dwellings advertised for rent over that period — alas, it reduced from 86,683 in December 2016 to a piddly 57,558 in December 2021,” he said.

The numbers are more concerning when Melbourne and Sydney are excluded — 15 million people live in other capital cities and 200 regional cities while there were only 16,896 dwellings advertised for rent in December.

Five years ago, 61,980 dwellings were available for tenants.

Mr Pressley said this situation did not happen overnight but over the course of several years.

“Propertyology has consistently expressed concern that a series of regulatory blockages was seriously suppressing rental supply, thereby creating pressure on household budgets of tenants,” he said.

Over the course of the pandemic, rental markets became more competitive outside Sydney and Melbourne.

For instance, Queensland markets such as Cairns, Hervey Bay, Gold Coast, and Sunshine Coast have been significantly squeezed as demand surged.

“The volume of properties on their rent roll has been shrinking for a few years while the number of tenant applications typically received for a property when it comes available for rent continually increases,” he said.

According to Propertyology, the following regional cities will witness a $5,000 increase in rents this year:

1. Airlie Beach
2. Albany
3. Albury
4. Ballina
5. Batemans Bay
6. Bathurst
7. Bendigo
8. Bowral
9. Bundaberg
10. Burnie
11. Busselton
12. Cairns
13. Coffs Harbour
14. Dubbo
15. Esperance
16. Geelong
17. Geraldton
18. Gladstone
19. Gold Coast
20. Gosford
21. Goulburn
22. Gympie
23. Hervey Bay
24. Kiama
25. Kempsey
26. Kingscliff
27. Launceston
28. Lismore
29. Lorne
30. Mackay
31. Maitland
32. Maryborough
33. Mount Barker
34. Mount Gambier
35. Mornington Peninsula
36. Mudgee
37. Newcastle
38. Noosa
39. Orange
40. Port Macquarie
41. Rockhampton
42. Sunshine Coast
43. Toowoomba
44. Torquay
45. Townsville
46. Traralgon
47. Wagga
48. Wangaratta
49. Warrnambool
50. Warragul
51. Warwick
52. Wodonga
53. Wollongong
54. Yamba and Yeppoon.

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