10 Leeson Street, Officer South, is for rent at $650 a week. It’s one of two homes available for rent today in the suburb known for new housing.

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Rental homes in two Melbourne suburbs are attracting more than 100 inquiries per listing as the city’s rental crisis worsens.

New figures from PropTrack show Dandenong’s typical $375 a week rental listing, which covers both houses and units, currently receives interest from about 117 hopeful tenants.

In Cranbourne, tenants compete with an average 104 others for homes despite rents there being higher at $420 a week.

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The rest of the city’s top 10 most in demand rental suburbs all topped an average of 90 interested parties, including Hampton Park, Noble Park North and Springvale.

PropTrack senior economist Eleanor Creagh said while not all those initially interested would go on to inspect and apply for a home, it reflected the city’s increasingly tough conditions for tenants.

“Melbourne has seen the largest rental vacancy decline nationwide in the past year, so it’s reflective of tight and tightening rental conditions,” Ms Creagh said.

With the city’s vacancy rate at a record low 1.15 per cent in September, it’s possible there will be more suburbs with more than 100 people interested in each rental in the future.

Homes like 2/161 Gladstone Road in Dandenong are in high demand. It’s owner is asking for $470 a week in rent.

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“It may not get worse at the pace in which it has been over the past 12 months, but there’s nothing on the horizon to suggest we will see a significant increase in the supply of rental homes,” Ms Creagh said.

But renters did catch a break in Officer South, about 48km south east of the state’s capital, where the about 33 people looking at each rental listing on realestate.com.au are down to a third of the almost 100 inquiring for the average home a year ago.

The economist said the fall in demand for Officer South likely reflected the suburb’s new housing development adding to the number of homes for rent.

MOST IN-DEMAND RENTAL SUBURBS

Dandenong — $375 a week, 117 inquiries

Cranbourne — $420 a week, 104 inquiries

Hampton Park — $420 a week, 97 inquiries

Noble Park North — $425 a week, 97 inquiries

Springvale — $440 a week, 97 inquiries

Noble Park — $400 a week, 96 inquiries

Dandenong North — $420 a week, 95 inquiries

Notting Hill — $460 a week, 94 inquiries

Clayton South — $475 a week, 93 inquiries

Clayton — $480 a week, 92 inquiries

Source: PropTrack —Includes median dwelling price, houses and units, plus average number of inquiries.

It was the only area to record a fall within 50km of Melbourne’s CBD, though Portsea and Balnarring on the Mornington Peninsula were also metropolitan suburbs that recorded a reduction in inquiries, with numbers for both falling by about 10 people across the past year.

Other Victorian towns where tenants are likely to be face less competition today include Terang, where there is a third of the level of inquiries for homes compared to a year ago.

Kalimna near Lakes Entrance is down almost 60 per cent and Breakwater in Geelong has about 30 less people inquiring per listing.

Rental Search Australia co-founder and director Jade Costello said it wasn’t surprising to see demand for tenancies falling in regional areas.

There’s rising demand for Melbourne suburbs as people happy to move further from the capital during the pandemic try to return to the big smoke amid rising fuel costs.

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Ms Costello said that during the pandemic demand for many regional towns had surged as the need to be in the office fell, but now that people were returning to the CBD for work and facing soaring petrol costs, they were looking to move back closer to the city.

“We are 100 per cent finding more people who were happy to live far away from the CBD are wanting to come back,” she said.

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