PropTrack report shows New England affordable housing cut in half

According to a new report by property data analyst PropTrack, the share of rental properties listed at $400 per week or less has fallen from 81.7 per cent in March 2020 to 56.6 per cent in April 2023.

"We're seeing that the cost of renting is continuing to climb. The strong demand and persistent shortage of available rentals is giving landlords the scope to continue to lift rents," PropTrack report author and Senior Economist Eleanor Creagh said.

She said the bright side is the effect on regional areas is not as pronounced as it is in capital cities.

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For example, the report found that the share of Sydney rental properties listed on realestate.com.au for less than $400 has more than halved year-on-year to a record low 9.13 per cent.

However, she said regional areas are still facing challenges stemming from the exodus of people from capital cities into the bush brought on by COVID-19.

"We might see that these challenges push renters back into share houses or encourage those with the means to do so to buy sooner than they otherwise would have, easing demand pressures a little, but the only sustainable solution is to increase the supply of available rentals," Ms Creagh said.

Unfortunately, data was not available on a smaller scale than the New England and North West region, so the Leader asked real estate professionals from across the region for insight.

"Most people move here for work purposes, or to return home after not being in Gunnedah for 20 years," Hennessy Real Estate Business Development Manager Megan Riley said.

Four years ago Gunnedah's property market was facing one of it's worst ever years, but a boom in the mining industry brought many high-paying jobs to the small town, and workers need houses.

"We definitely need more, especially when you've got an older population looking to downsize to something a little smaller and more affordable, so more duplexes or smaller rental properties would be great," Ms Riley said.

Up north in Armidale a similar story is playing out with low availability driving up prices.

"I think that it's getting harder and harder. As of this week the vacancy rate in our office was about 1.7 per cent, probably a little bit higher than nationally but still really low for a regional area," Director of Professionals Armidale Ben Saxby said.

And at the Southern tip of New England, One Agency Liverpool Plains director Liz Morris said the same thing about Quirindi and Werris Creek: high demand, low supply.

"Basically since COVID set in and we had that whole lifestyle change, buyers were coming from Sydney to semi-retire and buying houses which used to be rented, but there's been no reinvestment back into the community to replenish that stock," Ms Morris said.

"Pre-COVID your average rental for a four-bedroom two-bathroom double-car garage was about $280 per week, but now we can secure tenants in there for between $450 to $500 per week."

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