Canberra evening parliament house
Image: Social Events, Unsplash
  • Median house rent now $600, up $20
  • Median unit now $495 , up $15
  • The national median for capital city houses is $469
  • Number of vacant rentals is down by 24 per cent

According to data from Domain’s Rental Report Canberra has been crowned as the most expensive city in Australia to rent, a title it has not held for over a decade.

The median rental price for houses in the Capital has increased by $20 to $600, higher than the next two most expensive cities, Sydney and Darwin, where the median for both is $550.

This is much higher than the national median rent for capital cities which is currently $469.

The median unit rent has gone up by a similar amount at $15 making the median now $495.

This is higher than the national capital city median rent which currently stands at $432.

Although December saw a lift in Canberra’s traditionally tight vacancy rate of 1.1 per cent, the number of vacant rentals is down 24 per cent overall compared to last year.

Traditionally the planned city has been expensive to rent in due to the unique nature of the local workforce, along with relatively low supply.  However, there are numerous other explanations for Canberra’s recent jump in rental prices.

Being the capital city, Canberra has a strong public service which saw comparatively little job losses as experienced by other parts of the country in the private sector due to the cities reliance on sectors that are directly funded by the government.

Additionally, Canberra has seen low Covid-19 cases from both interstate sources – despite usually having high volumes of traffic from New South Wales and Victoria – as well as fewer international arrivals, therefore the city has experienced little disruption in the way of lockdowns.




You May Also Like

Melbourne property market sees mom and dad builders flock to outer suburbs for the best bang for buck

The cost of building a house in these top 20 suburbs started at $272,944 and topped out at $387,688.

Australian rental market clocks in a near-40% price growth, while wages struggle to keep up

Rents soared by almost 40% across the pandemic, while wages barely clocked in 20% growth.

Gender gap closes? Women outpace men in overall property ownership

Challenges persist for younger women in achieving homeownership, highlighting the need for targeted solutions.

Exclusive: Top five regional New South Wales housing markets revealed, the affordable alternatives to Sydney

Hotspotting has exclusively revealed to TPT New South Wales housing market’s five best regional hotspots for homebuyers and investors.

Experts Corner by The Property Tribune

Ko & NPA partner to launch several co-owned luxury properties at Mermaid Beach, Gold Coast

Ko's partnership with NPA Projects provides more opportunities to co-own off-the-plan holiday residences, including exclusive Gold Coast properties

Continue reading

Top Articles

Perth property market: The definitive guide to buying a modular home

Modular homes, misunderstood as inferior, offer efficient, durable alternatives to traditional construction methods.

The 50 square metre solution getting people into their first homes and delivering an answer to ...

Small, modular homes could be a key part of the broader solution to Western Australia's current housing challenges.

The hardest time ever to buy a house in Australia: How Australian home buying got ...

We're currently in a buyer's market, but that doesn't mean Australian house prices are crashing.