This month the cost and number of shrinking rental options appears to be the main property industry headline. This apparent firestorm has been brewing for a while with a number of contributing factors, but not everyone agrees on all aspects. Domain says that strong demand and short supply has massively increased competition, and as a result, fewer than 1% of rental properties have been left empty in August.
Despite stories showing long queues for renters to inspect a property, this article in the Conversation argues that the growth of actual rent costs (as opposed to advertised or asking rents costs) has only grown by 1.6% in the 2022 year to June, compared to 8.2% for advertised rents, and notes ‘most’ renters remain by default on their existing contract once it expires, for example.
So the question may be more one of availability than of cost; of supply rather than demand.