For Lease signs have started to appear again By Catherine Watson
THE pendulum appears to be swinging back in renters’ favour after several years when rental vacancies were scarce, particularly during the pandemic.
Realestate.com.au this week listed 116 residential properties available for rent in Bass Coast and For Lease signs have started to appear again after a gap of several years.
But the picture is complicated. While more properties are available, rents have not fallen far from the Covid peak and they remain out of reach of anyone on a Centrelink benefit or low wage.
The cheapest advertised rental on Realestate.com.au this week was $340 a week for a two-bedroom house in Cowes and $360 for a two-bedroom unit in Rhyll, but the rest were all $400 or over.
THE pendulum appears to be swinging back in renters’ favour after several years when rental vacancies were scarce, particularly during the pandemic.
Realestate.com.au this week listed 116 residential properties available for rent in Bass Coast and For Lease signs have started to appear again after a gap of several years.
But the picture is complicated. While more properties are available, rents have not fallen far from the Covid peak and they remain out of reach of anyone on a Centrelink benefit or low wage.
The cheapest advertised rental on Realestate.com.au this week was $340 a week for a two-bedroom house in Cowes and $360 for a two-bedroom unit in Rhyll, but the rest were all $400 or over.
More than half the advertised rentals were in Cowes and Inverloch with more holiday home owners turning to long-term rentals to cover the cost of rising mortgage rates and the new land tax levy.
Thirty-seven properties were available in Cowes, with the median $440 for a three-bedroom house and $520 for four bedrooms.
Twenty houses were listed in Inverloch, with most between $410 and $500. The median is $480 over the past 12 months, up 7.2 per cent over a year earlier.
This week just seven houses were listed for rent in Wonthaggi, ranging from $420 for a three bedroom house with two bathrooms to $600 for a four-bedroom house in North Wonthaggi.
Five properties were listed for rent in the Waterline townships of Grantville, Corinella, Coronet Bay and Pioneer Bay, at prices ranging from $390 to $460. The median price has risen 5.6% in the past year.
Kathryn Sloan, head of Alex Scott’s rental department, said rentals were generally a bit cheaper in the Grantville-Bass Valley area but local renters are now competing with Melbourne renters who had been priced out of Melbourne’s outer south-eastern suburbs (Cranbourne, Pakenham, Narre Warren).
She said while they were getting inquiries for rentals across the region, many people could not afford to rent at the current rate.
Two parents on a Centrelink benefit would be able to afford $400-450 a week, she said, at the lower end of the market. “It would be very hard to get a bigger place for that.”
Thirty-seven properties were available in Cowes, with the median $440 for a three-bedroom house and $520 for four bedrooms.
Twenty houses were listed in Inverloch, with most between $410 and $500. The median is $480 over the past 12 months, up 7.2 per cent over a year earlier.
This week just seven houses were listed for rent in Wonthaggi, ranging from $420 for a three bedroom house with two bathrooms to $600 for a four-bedroom house in North Wonthaggi.
Five properties were listed for rent in the Waterline townships of Grantville, Corinella, Coronet Bay and Pioneer Bay, at prices ranging from $390 to $460. The median price has risen 5.6% in the past year.
Kathryn Sloan, head of Alex Scott’s rental department, said rentals were generally a bit cheaper in the Grantville-Bass Valley area but local renters are now competing with Melbourne renters who had been priced out of Melbourne’s outer south-eastern suburbs (Cranbourne, Pakenham, Narre Warren).
She said while they were getting inquiries for rentals across the region, many people could not afford to rent at the current rate.
Two parents on a Centrelink benefit would be able to afford $400-450 a week, she said, at the lower end of the market. “It would be very hard to get a bigger place for that.”