The Gungahlin region, Braddon and City are the best rental suburbs in Canberra, with prospective tenants snapping up properties at lightning speed.
MARQ Portfolio Manager Alex Piatrova-Kuminskaya said most properties leased quickly across Canberra, but the Gungahlin region, in particular homes in Forde, Bonner, Casey and Crace, had been especially popular in the current market.
Closer to central Canberra, Braddon and City were sought-after locations, she said.
It comes as CoreLogic’s Quarterly Rental Review, released in October, showed that despite recent declines, Canberra was still the most expensive capital city rental market in Australia.
Canberra recorded the weakest rental growth in the three months to September, with unit rents rising 1.0% while house rents fell -0.9%. Annually, rental prices are up by 7.2%.
Median weekly rents are now $682.
Canberra rental yields were at 3.97% in September, with the vacancy rate 1.3%.
According to the CoreLogic report, Denman Prospect is Canberra’s most expensive suburb to rent in, with median weekly rents just shy of $1000 at $994 for a house.
Conversely, Lyons is the most affordable place to rent the median price for units $521 a week.
Alex said the growing Gungahlin region was favoured by people seeking units and apartments, but the lifestyle and amenity of the area was also a drawcard.
“The Gungahlin region – Franklin, Harrison and Gungahlin itself – as well as Braddon and City are really sought-after for apartments. There are a lot of single people and couples looking to rent,” she said.
“In spring and summer, we get a lot of people looking for family homes, so three and four bedroom houses in the back of Gungahlin region such as Forde, Bonner, Casey, Crace, plus a lot in Braddon and the City area. That’s generally apartments for uni students coming into Canberra and single defence members.”
Alex said MARQ had its busiest month in property management in September, securing a record number of rental listings.
“Our experience is that despite rental prices remaining high, there is still strong demand for quality rentals in Canberra,” she said. “As well, there is also a big cohort of buyers looking to purchase investment properties to rent out.”
CoreLogic says with Sydney’s strong rental growth, the gap between Australia’s two most expensive rental markets had narrowed to just $17 a week.
“Given international migration is expected to continue to support rental demand across Sydney, while affordability is expected to continue to weigh on Canberra’s rental growth, it’s likely Sydney will overtake Canberra as Australia’s most expensive capital city rental market in the coming months,” the report said.
Most expensive suburbs to rent in Canberra (houses)
1. Denman Prospect: $994pw, annual rent change 14.5% up
2. Campbell: $947, 3.9% up
3. Wright: $926, 9.3% up
4. Garran: $920, 8.6% up
5. Coombs: $913, 10.9% up
Most affordable suburbs to rent in Canberra (units)
1. Lyons: $521 pw, annual rent change 8.6% up
2. Hawker: $524, 12% up
3. Chifley: $527, 7% up
4. Crace: $529, 5.7% up
5. Phillip: $532, 6.1% up
Source: CoreLogic Quarterly Rental Review, October 2022