When you’re moving to Australia, it often makes sense to rent for a period of time while you decide where to buy a home – especially given weekend viewing trips from the UK just aren’t possible!
Article written by The Overseas Guides Company
Be sure, though, to investigate rental costs in the area in which you are looking carefully, as you may be surprised by some areas. You could be forgiven for thinking that Sydney and Melbourne – Australia’s two largest cities – are the most expensive places to rent property. You would, however, be wrong.
According to figures released for the quarter to the end of September 2012 by data company Australian Property Monitors, Sydney is one of the most expensive places in the country in which to rent a property – currently median prices are $AUD520 per week for houses and $AUD470 per week for apartments – but it is in fact Darwin that has the highest rents of the major cities.
Driven by huge demand from mining companies to house its staff when not working in remote Western Australia, median rents there will set you back a hefty $AUD700 for a house and $AUD530 for apartments. These recently released figures are a rise of 27 and 15 per cent respectively on rental prices achieved just a year ago.
Perth, too, saw median rents soar, with a 15 per cent rise for houses at $AUD450 and an even bigger surge of 11 per cent for apartments to $AUD390.
The run-up in prices is being led by huge numbers of renters looking for a property – much the same situation as is currently happening in the UK. Perth for example is growing its population by an incredible 1,500 per week, which is a huge amount of competition for limited housing supply.
By contrast, Melbourne has among the cheapest rents of Australia’s major cities. By end of September 2012, median weekly rents for houses were $AUD360, while apartments were $AUD350. The cheapest city in which to rent is Hobart. Rents for houses in the Tasmanian capital were $AUD320 per week, and apartments $AUD250.
If you think turning your sights to more rural areas will help bring down the costs, you would be right – except for some notable exceptions.
Popular coastal towns can demand hefty prices, and can be difficult to secure a long-term rental agreement since short-term lets are a much more attractive, and profitable, option for landlords during the peak summer months.
In towns close to remote mines, such as in outback Queensland, the Hunter Valley in NSW and across the north west of Western Australia, rents easily eclipse those commanded in the cities. Indeed there are places for which you will not get any change from $AUD1,000 per week to rent an average property.
As with all things property related, the key is to do your homework. Research areas online – you will quickly determine the desirability of an area, and the type of renters it attracts, by perusing estate agent listings. Talk to locals there if you know any. Start reading the area’s local paper. And browse the local Council’s website for news on new developments in the area.
Once you’re ready to take the plunge and buy, you can search for properties for sale in Australia via the listings on Rightmove Overseas.
When emigrating to Australia or buying property there, using a currency exchange specialist rather than a bank to transfer your pounds to Australian dollars could save you thousands. Smart Currency Exchange can help you do this – for more information, download Smart Currency Exchange’s free guide or visit the Currency Zone.
To understand the full step-by-step process to buying a property in Australia, collect The Overseas Guides Company’s ‘Australia Property Buying Guide’
The views and comments herein are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of Rightmove Overseas, Rightmove Group Ltd or Rightmove Plc