Middle-income Australians are experiencing rental stress with a third of income being spent on housing, according to a new CoreLogic report, as reported by The Guardian Australia.
CoreLogic found that rent has increased by 36% nationally since the pandemic, equalling an extra $171 a week on average and leaving even those on median incomes in rental stress.
Nationwide, rental growth was found to be higher in regional areas, up 1.2% over the quarter and 6.2% over the year while the combined capital cities recorded a milder 0.1% quarterly increase and a 4.3% rise over the 12 months to December.
Housing advocates say unachievable house prices and growing rents are causing a crisis, and with 10,000 new people accessing homelessness services each month, are calling for a cap on rent increases at a government level.
“We need limits on rent increases,” A spokesperson for housing campaign Everybody’s Home, Maiye Azize said. “Australia is one of the only developed countries where unlimited rent increases are legal. Only the ACT has legal limits, and the numbers show that it’s working; Canberra is the only capital city where rents are stable.”