Rental prices in Tamworth expected to level out, but not come down for at least 12 months

High demand for rental spaces has pushed prices up over the past year, with many people competing for living space.

"On average at the moment for a rental property we're seeing at least 20 applications come in before even inspecting the property," Property manager for McCulloch Agencies Dominique Ritter said, "There's just so much demand at the moment."

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It was the same story at Property Now, though residential sales specialist Tania Claire said they have had a bit more availability since Christmas, which gives renters a bit more time to apply and inspect properties they like the look of.

Despite the slight increase in availability, however, Ms Claire isn't optimistic that prices will come back down anytime soon.

"I don't think they'll come back substantially ... they've probably hit a peak for a bit, but there's more demand around," she said

Ms Claire said one reason many people look for properties in Tamworth, whether to rent or buy, is because the city is seen as an up-and-coming location for growth and economic expansion, attracting many new residents and putting a lot of strain on the local housing market.

"Tamworth has been flagged as a major regional centre for investors, and they're predicting our [population] growth to reach 100,000 over the next 10-15 years," she said.

Another source of demand for rental units comes from people who have recently sold their homes due to cost-of-living pressures, Ms Ritter said.

Annual inflation hit 7.8 per cent at the end of last year, hurting the wallets of many Australians.

"A lot of people are having to sell their houses to afford to live these days, so a lot of them are moving into the rental market," Ms Ritter said.

The reshuffling of homeowners into renters adds to the supply of houses, but they don't stay empty for long due to the sheer number of people looking for places to live.

Ms Ritter said her best advice for people thinking of getting into the rental market; to try their best to do so with a clean record.

"It's hard for someone with a good rental history to get a property at the moment, so [for] anybody with a bad history it's nearly impossible," she said.

Despite high prices and low vacancy rates, both real estate professionals said they see opportunity in the challenges posed by Tamworth's tight housing market.

They said a good thing to come out of a tight market and booming population growth is that it signals to investors that Tamworth is a safe location to develop, which incentivises businesses and construction projects to the region.

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