Average Rent In Australia: A Guide

According to the ABS, 31% of all Australians are renting their house, while 66% of Australian households own their home with or without a mortgage. It is estimated around 33% of homeowners are entirely mortgage-free.

In 2021, the median rents began increasing in all states—offset by the Covid-19 pandemic and demand for accommodation in regional areas—and have continued to increase in the last few years due to inflationary pressures, RBA rate rises, and the return of overseas migration.

“Rent increases have become larger and more common over the past year for most properties in capital cities,” an ABS report on the housing market from 2022 reads.

“Over the past year, rents have increased for almost three-quarters of properties, up from around one-quarter every year pre-pandemic”.

CoreLogic conducts regular research and data gathering of Australia’s housing market, including finding the median weekly rental value.

As CoreLogic’s Head of Research Eliza Owen explains, the median weekly rental value is the 50th percentile of rental valuation estimates observed for all properties (house or unit) within a suburb, rented or otherwise.

This figure is useful for understanding what the typical house or unit in a suburb could rent for, Owen says.

Forbes Advisor Australia has used the figures from CoreLogic’s most recent median rental index to discuss the average rent in states, capital cities, and the surrounds below..

Average Rent In New South Wales

The average weekly rent in New South Wales’ capital city Sydney is $745, according to CoreLogic’s most recent data. This makes it the most expensive capital city in the country to rent in.

The Northern Beaches are the most expensive place to rent according to the data, coming in at $1167 per week, while the Outer South West was the most affordable at $518 per week.

Average Rent Throughout New South Wales

CoreLogic doesn’t provide a single figure for regional NSW, however, the many data sets show that the median rent does lower significantly once you move outside the Sydney catchment area: rent, for example, in the Far West of New South Wales costs an average of $404 per week.

Of the regions CoreLogic compared outside of Greater Sydney and throughout the rest of the state, only one came close to reaching the capital city’s average. Richmond-Tweed, on the border with Queensland, was just over the seven-hundred mark, coming in with an average of $702 per week.

Average Rent In Melbourne

The average rent in Melbourne is nearly $200 cheaper than Sydney, costing tenants $565 per week. Surprisingly, this leaves Melbourne as one of the cheapest capital cities to rent in compared to the rest of the nation despite the Southern city on track to overtake Sydney as Australia’s biggest.

The Inner East suburbs are the most expensive, with the median rent in these areas being $690 per week. The Western suburbs are more affordable, coming down to an average weekly rent of $491.

Average Rent Throughout Victoria

Outside of Melbourne, the rent for all areas that CoreLogic datarised was under $500 per week in the state of Victoria, apart from Geelong. Geelong has an average of $505 per week, making it the most expensive place outside of the capital to rent in the state, while the cheapest area is Ballarat at $429.

Average Rent In Brisbane

Queensland’s capital city Brisbane has an average rent of $627, on par with many other capital cities in Australia.

The Western Suburbs of Brisbane are the most expensive, with a median rent of $744—only $1 lower than the average across Sydney.

Average Rent Throughout Queensland

Outside of the capital city, Queensland still has quite high rental prices in other popular, coastal areas. The Gold Coast costs an average of $792 per week (the most expensive in the state), and the Sunshine Coast costs an average of $711 per week.

All other areas throughout the state fall under the $700 mark per week, with Outback Queensland being the cheapest at $410 per week.

Average Rent In Adelaide

Renting in Adelaide costs the same as renting throughout the city of Melbourne, according to CoreLogic’s data. The median average rent in Adelaide is also $565.

The most expensive area in Adelaide to rent is the city centre and the hills, at $613 per week. The cheapest areas are the northern suburbs of Adelaide, at $529 per week.

Average Rent Throughout South Australia

CoreLogic’s rental index looks at three other districts in the rest of South Australia: the Barassa-Yorke-Mid North region; the South East; and the Outback.

The Outback is the cheapest, reporting a median weekly rent of $361, while the South East has an average of $420 per week. The Barassa-Yorke-Mid North region costs $400 per week to rent.

Average Rent In Perth

Perth is one of the more expensive capital cities in Australia to rent in, with an average across the city of $630 per week.

Unsurprisingly, the inner suburbs are the most expensive, at $773 per week. All other areas in Perth are under the $700 mark, with the cheapest being the South West at $617 per week.

Average Rent Throughout Western Australia

Outside of the city of Perth, the cost of rent in Western Australia varies greatly according to CoreLogic’s rental index.

In the Northern WA Outback, rent goes up to $862 per week while in the Southern WA Outback, rent costs an average of $488 per week.

The cheapest area in Western Australia is the Wheat Belt, which costs renters a median price of $441 per week.

Average Rent In Hobart

Tasmania’s capital is the cheapest capital city in Australia to rent in, with a median weekly rent of $535. It’s also one of the only cities that has seen a decrease in the annual change in rents, with the most significant dip of -3.5%.

As Hobart is a small city, there are limited areas throughout the city to compare.

Average Rent Throughout Tasmania

The rest of Tasmania all fall under the $500 in median weekly rent prices, with three other regions detailed in CoreLogic’s rental index.

The cheapest of the three is the West and North West region of Tasmania, at an average rental price of $410 per week.

Tasmania’s second largest city, Launceston, is also the second most expensive for average weekly rent at $464.

Average Rent In Canberra

Canberra is the second most expensive capital city to live in in Australia, costing a median weekly rent of $651. CoreLogic does not break its Canberra data down by region due to its smaller size.

There is also no specific average rent specified for any regions throughout the rest of the Australian Capital Territory, due to the ACT’s small size compared to other states and territories.

Average Rent In Darwin

The average rent in Darwin costs $611 per week. Similar to Hobart and Canberra, Darwin is a small city, and there are no additional areas to compare in terms of the most expensive and most affordable suburbs in the city.

Average Rent Throughout Northern Territory

Despite the Northern Territory being a large state, there is only one other region specified in CoreLogic’s rental index, the Outback NT. This region costs $526 as a median rental price.

There is no doubt that, post-pandemic, renting in Australia is much more expensive than it used to be. Recent growth in rent values have averaged 9.1% a year for the past three years—a stark contrast to the average annual growth rate of 2% in the 2010s, Owen explains in CoreLogic’s most recent rental report.

Of the 88 dwelling markets analysed, only 16 were down from historic highs, the report explains. Nationally, rent increased 8.3% in the past year.

But while annual growth in rents is higher than historic averages, there are some glimmers of relief.

“In 2023, rent values rose 8.3%, down from a peak of 9.6% in the year to September 2022,” Owen says, suggesting that the rate of increases is slowing.

“Despite the concerning reacceleration toward the end of 2023, rent growth is still expected to slow this year.

“However, in the short term, the burden largely remains on tenants to secure cheaper housing, whether that be by re-forming share house arrangements, or once again looking to regional or outer suburban markets for rental accommodation.”