Rents surge while prices stall

Australia's median rent prices rose five point five percent over the year to September to reach seven hundred thirteen dollars per week. Median property prices across houses and units remained flat over the same year.

The gap is narrowing fast

Guardian Australia's analysis of Cotality data shows mortgage repayments are now cheaper than rent in dozens of suburbs.

Melbourne apartments lead the way

The typical rent for a Melbourne apartment was six hundred twenty eight dollars a week after rising four point eight percent over the last year.

Where buying beats renting now

Repayments were cheaper than rent for the typical property in Carlton, Melbourne CBD, Notting Hill, Travancore and Southbank.

Tenants are doing the maths

Clint Waters, a Melbourne mortgage broker, said home buying interest had dropped but renters were inquiring in strong numbers.

“They're certainly doing the maths … [and] the equation at the moment is starting to narrow.”

Landlords are offloading properties

Waters said a stable or growing number of tenants are looking to buy direct from their landlord.

“Landlords are getting slammed left, right and centre, and going 'screw this, I'm going to offload.'”

New apartments are pushing prices down

Gerard Burg, a Cotality researcher, said areas with significant apartment development tended to be cheaper to buy than rent.

These are anomalies, not the norm

Burg said such areas were anomalies. Houses remain generally more expensive to buy than rent. If buying were cheaper than renting everywhere, everyone would buy and exit the rental market, he said.

“If it was a sustained thing that you could buy a property more cheaply than renting it, then everyone would buy and everyone would exit the rental market.”