Brisbane renters ‘strings tighten’ amid rental crisis – realestate.com.au

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Josh Frew, at home in Bowen Hills, for Sunday Mail Rent by Suburbs, on Monday 4th March – Photo Steve Pohlner

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Young professional Josh Frew inspected 43 apartments before landing a rental property in inner Brisbane, and says finding somewhere to live is like applying for a job.

Mr Frew finally secured a unit in Bowen Hills, where the median unit price has increased more than 24 per cent in the past 12 months to $560 a week, according to PropTrack figures showing it’s never been more expensive to be a tenant in Queensland.

“When I first moved out, I was paying $340 per week, and it’s now $550, and it seems to be that way across the board. You have no choice now but to tighten your strings and cut corners on other things as you need somewhere to live.

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“I always treat looking for a rental like a job interview and consider why I would be a good tenant. One of the things I did was ask my real estate agent for a tenant report to demonstrate how I live.

“I went and looked at 43 different apartments in my complex, but an advert in my elevator landed me my current rental.”

Mr Frew said he had experienced the large crowds and shortage of available properties after the landlord put his previous rental on the market.

“I don’t think it’s landlords being greedy. What I think is driving up the prices is that there is nothing for people to move into,” he said.

“Bowen Hills is a great little area to live in. I think many people forget about it; you have Newstead and New Farm not far away; the only downside I can think of is when the Ekka is on, and it takes me about half an hour to get out of my complex.

“I thought that buying would be a better option before going into my current apartment I’m renting. I would rather pay my mortgage than someone else’s.”

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Business Development Manager & Partner Lisa Perruzza from Place Estate Agents Bulimba and Camp Hill said the state’s rental reforms were scaring away investors, who provided most of the rental supply.

“No investors are buying at the moment; the rental laws are ridiculous and are causing people to not want to invest,” Ms Perruzza said.

“If the government doesn’t do anything to tackle the housing supply, things will just worsen. If the new laws pass, it will be more difficult for investors and less likely they will be buying in Brisbane.

“With the prediction of interstate migrations, how will we house the people who want to move to Brisbane? 95 per cent of the clients I deal with are accidental investors, with very limited investors purchasing.

Ms Perruzza said her team’s rental listings were down from usual.

“We normally have around 25 to 40 rental listings at any one time, and currently we have 10, and most of those are under application,” she said.

“I see renters put a bio about themselves to spark any interest that might be out there; we get lots of calls daily trying to help people. When you’ve gone through dozens of applications, it’s difficult because you can only put one application forward per property.”