Demand for rooms in sharehouses has soared as rising rents and the cost of living starts to bite.
DEMAND for sharehouse living has soared to record levels, with up to 120 people competing to rent just one available room in some Queensland suburbs.
New figures from Flatmates.com.au reveal May was the site’s busiest month on record, with 69,400 new members joining the platform — up more than 36 per cent from April and a staggering 103 per cent higher than a year ago.
This room in a house in Mount Gravatt is available for rent for $350 a week on Flatmates.com.au.
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Holland Park in Brisbane’s south has one of the highest ratio of property seekers to room listings in the country at 119 to one, followed by Milton and Mount Gravatt.
A quick look on Flatmates.com.au shows a room in a sharehouse in Holland Park costs around $300/week, including bills, but that jumps to $650/week in a suburb like Spring Hill.
A room downstairs in this property at 41a Arnold St, Holland Park, is for rent for $495/week on Flatmates.com.au.
Regionally, Townsville city has a whopping 149 people looking for a room in a sharehouse and zero currently available.
Caloundra on the Sunshine Coast has a ratio of just three available rooms to 123 people looking for one, and on the Gold Coast, Nobby Beach and Broadbeach are the most popular suburbs for renters looking for a room.
In Broadbeach, a room in a flatshare costs anywhere between $225 and $500 a week, including bills.
Flatmates.com.au community manager Claudia Conley said the figures showed more Queenslanders were looking to house sharing amid a brutally tight rental market and the rising of living, but also due to competition amid a lack of available rooms.
Flatmates.com.au community manager Claudia Conley.
Ms Conley said there were more than eight people looking for every room available in Brisbane, but that was much higher in more popular suburbs.
The median rent for a sharehouse room in Brisbane has increased 18 per cent from a year ago to $260 a week, with 4200 rooms currently available.
“That might seem like a lot, but it’s not given demand continues to increase,” Ms Conley said.
“We’d love to see more homeowners or empty nesters whose spare rooms are just gathering dust look to rent them out and earn some extra money. A room in Brisbane’s Paddington could earn you $253 a week. There are other benefits too, such as companionship, safety, you can share chores and split bills.”
A room is for rent in this apartment in Milton for $230 a week on Flatmates.com.au.
Ms Conley said what was “really surprising” is that Flatmates.com.au’s largest growing demographic is members aged 45 to 65, which saw a 10 per cent increase since May last year.
PropTrack’s latest Market Insight Report revealed the share of total properties listed for rent under $400 a week on realestate.com.au in March fell to 16.2 per cent, the lowest proportion since 2018.
The number of days rental homes are listed also hit a record low median of just 18 days nationally in March.
“Today’s renters are faced with limited choice, fierce competition, properties being leased at record speed and higher overall rents,” said Eleanor Creagh, senior economist at
She said demand was being driven by rising migration, which continued to outstrip the supply of available rentals. “This is giving landlords the scope to increase rent and is seeing that share of affordable properties continue to decline,” Ms Creagh said.
The post Rental crisis: 120 people competing for 1 room in a sharehouse in Brisbane appeared first on realestate.com.au.