Rents in Mount Pleasant have increased by nearly 40 per cent, as renters continue to struggle to find affordable accommodation in the Illawarra and South Coast.
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According to data from the PropTrack Rental Report June 2022, the median weekly asking rent in Mount Pleasant is $725, a 39.42 per cent growth on 2021. This puts the leafy Wollongong suburb in the top ten suburbs with the fastest rising rents for houses in regional NSW.
Second and third for fastest growing rents for houses was Tathra and Narooma on the Far South Coast.
Localities in the Eurobodalla and the Shoalhaven saw some of the fastest growth in rents for units, with Tuross Head, Broulee and Culburra Beach represented in the top ten, with hikes of over 25 per cent.
CEO of the Housing Trust Michelle Adair said the rapid rise in rents had been largely ignored by governments whose housing affordability policies instead addressed home owners.
"Governments are completely ignoring the 30 per cent of our population who are renters," she said.
"Particularly here in NSW, the state government has completely failed to develop policies that are going to do anything about it, and quite frankly, the Labor opposition here has also failed to release a housing policy."
The Illawarra has consistently been the region that has experienced the highest rise in rents across NSW. In April, the Illawarra had the most expensive median rent of any region in NSW, even Sydney, according to analysis of Australian Bureau of Statistics Data by RDA Illawarra.
Ms Adair said although Mount Pleasant might be at the top of the list, there are many other Illawarra suburbs close behind.
"We have been seeing consistent rental increases of between 20 and 30 per cent everywhere across the region."
While buyers may see falling property prices as interest rates rise, PropTrack director of economic research Cameron Kusher said renters had little to look forward to.
"Overall, the rental market is currently extremely tight, with many people looking for rental properties at a time in which the supply remains insufficient. It appears unlikely that relief is on the way any time soon," he said.
A combination of factors, in addition to a lack of supply, are causing rents to increase. Ms Adair said vacancy rates in the region were below one per cent, well below the required vacancy rate of three per cent for the market to function properly.
As buyers are locked out of purchasing a home due to higher interest rates and competition for rentals increases, fewer families will be able to afford a home, Ms Adair said.
"Every time a record is broken like this, it means more hearts, families and futures are being broken too, because this is a housing crisis."
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