Qld acreage property boasts a motocross track, shooting range

This Clear Island Waters property is listed for $1425 a week now, but was previously listed for $1100.

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But the cost of renting on the Gold Coast is soaring across much of the region, according to the PropTrack research.

Of the top 10 suburbs for house rent price growth, seven are on the Gold Coast and include Willow Vale (+33.3%), Miami (+33.3%), Highland Park (+30.4%), Paradise Point (+30%), and Tamborine Mountain and Surfers Paradise, both up 27.5 per cent in a year.

This Clear Island Waters property is listed for $1000 a week but was $800 a week in 2021, and $750 in 2020.

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Kollosche managing director Michael Kollosche said the increase in rental prices was a direct result of huge demand on the Gold Coast.

“This is obviously the after-effect of a significant increase in population growth through Covid where developers couldn’t keep up with the demand for investment,” Mr Kollosche said.

“Until the State Government starts to offer significantly more incentives to the private enterprise to build-to-rent in the form of relaxation on land tax, incentives around stamp duty, incentives around GST, we are going to find that this problem will be exacerbated.

“Especially while building prices are at unsustainable levels and builders are experiencing far too much work.”

This Miami property was offered for $1400 a week, but that increases to $1650 from May. It has already been leased.

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And Harcourts Coastal business development manager Brent Martens said he didn’t see a slowdown in rental demand anytime soon.

“We thought it would just be during that Covid period but that’s not the case at all,” Mr Martens said.

“We’re still finding every third or fourth call for a rental is an expat or people moving here from Sydney or Melbourne.

“We’re also seeing those international students coming back now that borders have opened.”

“If something is priced well, we will get 200-300 inquiries within 48 hours of listing it.

“We’re also finding a lot of people who are looking to rent are people who have cashed in on the market.”

The other top suburbs for rent hikes were all in the Wide Bay region – Bargara (+32.1%), Thabeban (+28.6%) and Southside (+26.8%).

This Noosaville property is listed for $595 but that will increase to $710 from March

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In Greater Brisbane, renters at Sadliers Crossing (Ipswich) have seen the biggest increase in weekly prices, up 32.9 per cent.

It was followed by Sandgate (+30.4%), Ormiston (+27.3%), Gaythorne (+26.6%) and Upper Caboolture (+26.3%).

Renters in Graceville, Ningi, Beachmere, Mount Warren Park and Milton are also paying north of 25 per cent more for houses now than 12 months ago.

PropTrack economist Anne Flaherty says it is unlikely the rental crisis will get better anytime soon

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PropTrack’s economist Anne Flaherty said Queensland had seen extraordinary population growth during the pandemic, and that demand had outstripped rental supply.

“It does sound extreme when you see 41.4 per cent increases, but we have seen this occurring in in-demand suburbs,” she said.

“There is so much competition that landlords are monitoring rent growth, but they are also watching their own increasing costs.

“It all comes back to supply and demand and while the movement to Queensland during the pandemic was out of the ordinary, we do expect it will continue to be one of the fastest growing states.”

Rental Affordability Index – Greater Brisbane. Source: SGS Economics & Planning

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It comes as new research by the Real Estate Institute of Australia shows that Queensland has recorded it biggest rent rises since 2003.

REIA president Hayden Groves said Brisbane rents had increased the most of all eight capital cities over the past year, with 3-bedroom houses increasing 22 per cent, and 2-bedroom houses increasing 20 per cent.

The latest REIQ Vacancy Report showed that the tightest markets in Queensland were Goondiwindi, Southern Downs and the South Burnett (0.15), while in Brisbane, vacancy rates are between 0.6 and 0.8 per cent.

Rental Affordability Index – Rest of Qld. Source: SGS Economics & Planning

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Up north, the vacancy rate is 0.5 per cent in Cairns and Townsville, while on the Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast, the vacancy rates are 0.6 per cent.

And the PropTrack data shows that for units, the impact of soaring rents is being felt across an even bigger geographical area.

Median rents for units in Peregian Beach have soared 30 per cent to $650 a week, while Sunrise Beach and Beerwah units are up 23.6 per cent 21.5 per cent respectively.

Two Townsville suburbs – Ingham (+27.8%) and Belgian Gardens (+25.4%) – round out the top three suburbs for rent rises over the past 12 months.

Aerial shot of Townsville, where Belgian Gardens unit rents have also climbed

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The rest can be found on the Gold Coast – Arundel, Merrimac, Bundall, Ashmore and Coombabah – with weekly rents climbing between 22.2 and 25 per cent.

The biggest rent hikes in Greater Brisbane have occurred in Red Hill, up 25.5 per cent, followed by Murrarie (+22.9%) and Rosewood (+21.3%).

The remaining top 10 spots went to North Lakes, Wavell Heights, Newstead, Kippa-Ring, Albion, Sandgate and Lawnton, with weekly rents rising between 13.2 and 18.8 per cent.

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