Perth records Australia’s fastest rental price rises for a capital city as housing supply dwindles

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Perth tenants are struggling amid a housing crisis with rental prices rising faster than any other capital city and a plummeting vacancy rate.

Advertised rents rose 19 per cent in the past year and four per cent in the 12 weeks to September 12, according to Shelter WA.

Perth also has the tightest vacancy rate of the capitals at 0.4 per cent, while regional Western Australia also experienced some of the largest rent rises in the nation.

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Shelter WA chief executive Kath Snell said tenants were being “smashed by some of the biggest rent rises in the country”.

“From Bunbury to Broome, and beyond, the housing crisis is hitting Western Australians hard,” she said on Tuesday.

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Two WA regions are among Australia’s top ten areas for rent rises in the past year — the Goldfields recorded a 30.8 per cent increase while rents in the Mid-West and Wheatbelt rose by 24.4 per cent.

Snell said the rocketing rents, low vacancy rates and an unprecedented demand for homelessness services were caused by a chronic shortage of affordable housing supply.

In the past three months, Sydney and Melbourne’s rents climbed by 0.9 and 2.8 per cent respectively, while in Brisbane they increased by 2.3 per cent.

Adelaide and Darwin’s rents rose by 1.2 and 1.1 per cent, while in Canberra and Hobart the average rent price dropped by 2.4 and 2.8 per cent.

Urban Development Institute of Australia chief executive Tanya Steinbeck said WA needs 20,000 more homes to meet expected housing demand over the next three years.

“State and federal governments play a critical role in supporting and encouraging key partnerships to deliver much-needed housing supply,” she said.

Perth had the tightest vacancy rate of the capitals and regional WA some of the largest rent rises. Credit: AAP

The WA government has called for community housing providers to lodge submissions for grant funding, land leases and land contributions to boost social housing in the state.

It is also working to simplify the development application process to make it easier for community housing providers to deliver social and affordable housing projects.

It’s part of the Cook government’s $2.6 billion investment in social housing and homelessness measures, announced in May, which has so far resulted in more than 1500 social homes, with a further 1000 under contract or construction.

The average weekly rent asking price was $644 in Perth and Canberra, $597 in Melbourne, $793 in Sydney, $626 in Brisbane, $532 in Adelaide, $489 in Hobart and $576 in Darwin.