Sydney, Melbourne Rent Prices Rise, Other Capitals Stall

Aussie renters in the country’s most populated cities are forking out more for their properties, despite prices freezing in other cities.

The latest PropTrack report shows in Melbourne, rent rose for a dwelling by 2.3 per cent while in Sydney, 1.8 per cent, in the December quarter.

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Nationally, prices remained the same at an average price of $480 per week, while the cost of a dwelling in Sydney reached $560 per week, a 7.7 per cent increase from the end of 2021.

The cost of renting a unit in Melbourne rose by 1.2 per cent to $425 per week while the cost of renting a house remained steady at $460 per week - still below the national average.

Despite Sydney seeing a rise in the average rental cost across all dwellings, the cost of renting a house fell by 3.1 per cent in the December quarter, to $630 per week.

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The report’s author Cameron Kusher said the findings were a reflection that people were moving from homes to units than an indication prices had finally peaked.

“What’s happened is people are getting a lot more price sensitive, but they’re also getting more willing to live in the inner-city areas and in units,” Mr Kusher said.

“So, in order to try and save costs people are looking to move out of houses and into units where they can make a fairly significant saving on their rent.”

Prices are expected to increase further this year due to low volumes of listings on the market.

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