New research commissioned by RentRabbit.com.au has found the top 10 rental markets in Victoria that are desperate for more stock.
The quarterly RentRabbit.com.au Rental Crisis Report identifies the top 10 suburbs in Victoria where tenants desperately need more rental accommodation to come onto the market, because the suburbs:
- Have incredibly low vacancy rates
- Have low average weekly household incomes
- Are below-average in terms of socio-economic status
The research began by analysing every rental house market in Victoria, before filtering out suburbs that:
- Contained more than three vacant rental properties
- Had a vacancy rate above 1.5%
- Were above-average in terms of socio-economic status
That left a small list of Victorian suburbs. To establish a top 10 ranking, these suburbs were then ranked based on their average weekly household income (from lowest to highest).
All the suburbs were located outside Melbourne. All had a vacancy rate under 0.5%, and most had a vacancy rate of 0%.
(When a suburb has a vacancy rate of 0%, that doesn’t mean the suburb literally has no vacant rental properties. Rental properties are regarded as ‘officially’ vacant when they’ve been on the market for 21 days or more. When a suburb has a vacancy rate of 0%, it means all rental properties are being filled in less than 21 days of being listed for rent.)
RentRabbit.com.au co-founder Ben Pretty said a lot of tenants are facing desperate conditions right now.
“Many renters in Victoria are being faced with a triple whammy – they live in
socio-economically disadvantaged areas, they have low household incomes and it’s incredibly hard for them to find rental accommodation,” he said.
“Some of these renters are living in suburbs that have a vacancy rate of 0%, which means rental properties are being snapped up the moment they become vacant. Unsurprisingly, in the vast majority of these suburbs, rents have increased over the past year, often by double-digit percentages.
“The RentRabbit.com.au Rental Crisis Report is designed to highlight the rental crisis facing significant numbers of people. Yes, it really is a crisis. For the sake of renters living in those suburbs, we hope that more rental stock comes onto the market soon.”
Top 10 ranking
| Rank | Suburb | Postcode | Vacancy rate (1 year ago) | Vacancy rate (now) | Average weekly household income |
| 1 | Venus Bay | 3956 | 3.0% | 0.0%* | $677 |
| 2 | Golden Beach | 3851 | 0.0%* | 0.0%* | $694 |
| 3 | Wonthaggi | 3995 | 0.6% | 0.0%* | $758 |
| 4 | Lakes Entrance | 3909 | 1.1% | 0.4% | $804 |
| 5 | Paynesville | 3880 | 0.8% | 0.4% | $840 |
| 6 | Myrtleford | 3737 | 0.0%* | 0.0%* | $902 |
| 7 | Stawell | 3380 | 0.0%* | 0.0%* | $928 |
| 8 | Cobram | 3644 | 1.2% | 0.3% | $931 |
| 9 | Bright | 3741 | 0.0%* | 0.0%* | $949 |
| 10 | Numurkah | 3636 | 1.5% | 0.0%* | $953 |
Key stats on the top 10 suburbs
1. The house market of Venus Bay (Gippsland – South West)
| Vacancy rate – March 2021 | 3.0% |
| Vacancy rate – March 2022 | 0.0%* |
| Vacancy rate – change | -3.0 percentage points |
| Median weekly rent – March 2021 | $280 |
| Median weekly rent – March 2022 | $340 |
| Median weekly rent – change | 21.4% |
| Average weekly household income | $677 |
| SEIFA score | 2 |
2. The house market of Golden Beach (Wellington)
| Vacancy rate – March 2021 | 0.0%* |
| Vacancy rate – March 2022 | 0.0%* |
| Vacancy rate – change | 0.0 percentage points |
| Median weekly rent – March 2021 | $335 |
| Median weekly rent – March 2022 | $379 |
| Median weekly rent – change | 13.1% |
| Average weekly household income | $694 |
| SEIFA score | 1 |
3. The house market of Wonthaggi (Gippsland – South West)
| Vacancy rate – March 2021 | 0.6% |
| Vacancy rate – March 2022 | 0.0%* |
| Vacancy rate – change | -0.6 percentage points |
| Median weekly rent – March 2021 | $330 |
| Median weekly rent – March 2022 | $400 |
| Median weekly rent – change | 21.2% |
| Average weekly household income | $758 |
| SEIFA score | 1 |
5. The house market of Lakes Entrance (Gippsland – East)
| Vacancy rate – March 2021 | 1.1% |
| Vacancy rate – March 2022 | 0.4% |
| Vacancy rate – change | -0.7 percentage points |
| Median weekly rent – March 2021 | $320 |
| Median weekly rent – March 2022 | $370 |
| Median weekly rent – change | 15.6% |
| Average weekly household income | $804 |
| SEIFA score | 1 |
5. The house market of Paynesville (Gippsland – East)
| Vacancy rate – March 2021 | 0.8% |
| Vacancy rate – March 2022 | 0.4% |
| Vacancy rate – change | -0.4 percentage points |
| Median weekly rent – March 2021 | $360 |
| Median weekly rent – March 2022 | $390 |
| Median weekly rent – change | 8.3% |
| Average weekly household income | $840 |
| SEIFA score | 3 |
6. The house market of Myrtleford (Wodonga – Alpine)
| Vacancy rate – March 2021 | 0.0%* |
| Vacancy rate – March 2022 | 0.0%* |
| Vacancy rate – change | 0.0 percentage points |
| Median weekly rent – March 2021 | $320 |
| Median weekly rent – March 2022 | $350 |
| Median weekly rent – change | 9.4% |
| Average weekly household income | $902 |
| SEIFA score | 2 |
7. The house market of Stawell (Grampians)
| Vacancy rate – March 2021 | 0.0%* |
| Vacancy rate – March 2022 | 0.0%* |
| Vacancy rate – change | 0.0 percentage points |
| Median weekly rent – March 2021 | $290 |
| Median weekly rent – March 2022 | $300 |
| Median weekly rent – change | 3.4% |
| Average weekly household income | $928 |
| SEIFA score | 1 |
8. The house market of Cobram (Moira)
| Vacancy rate – March 2021 | 1.2% |
| Vacancy rate – March 2022 | 0.3% |
| Vacancy rate – change | -0.9 percentage points |
| Median weekly rent – March 2021 | $310 |
| Median weekly rent – March 2022 | $340 |
| Median weekly rent – change | 9.7% |
| Average weekly household income | $931 |
| SEIFA score | 2 |
9. The house market of Bright (Wodonga – Alpine)
| Vacancy rate – March 2021 | 0.0%* |
| Vacancy rate – March 2022 | 0.0%* |
| Vacancy rate – change | 0.0 percentage points |
| Median weekly rent – March 2021 | $395 |
| Median weekly rent – March 2022 | $550 |
| Median weekly rent – change | 39.2% |
| Average weekly household income | $949 |
| SEIFA score | 5 |
10. The house market of Numurkah (Moira)
| Vacancy rate – March 2021 | 1.5% |
| Vacancy rate – March 2022 | 0.0%* |
| Vacancy rate – change | -1.5 percentage points |
| Median weekly rent – March 2021 | $260 |
| Median weekly rent – March 2022 | $270 |
| Median weekly rent – change | 3.8% |
| Average weekly household income | $953 |
| SEIFA score | 2 |
