Finding apartments to rent is now a daunting task for tenants with fierce competition and few options. The increase in international student arrivals is likely to put additional pressure on the market that already exists in the Australian capital.

The Australian rental market is bad

In an update sent to schools, the agency said it was "the highest number of foreign applications received in a month in the last decade".

Given that the last decade has been longer than the previous decade, the June figure will be an all-time high.

This increase continued through July, with an average of 10,000 student visa applications per week, an increase of nearly 40% from pre-pandemic levels. 

The rental market is already tight - particularly in the major capitals as people return to cities. This is seeing increased competition and rental price pressures. 

Australia-wide properties are renting faster than ever, and the number of days it took a rental property to be leased after it was listed on housify.co in July hit a historic low 19 days. 

Across the capitals rental days on site are also at a historic low 15 days in Brisbane and 21 days in Sydney as a shortage of rental stock bites. 
The number of homes available to rent has been trending lower since the pandemic began, and at a national level total rental listings are now almost a third lower than pre-pandemic levels (-31%). Although this difference is reported in the region, the number of tenants has increased slightly in recent months.

However, rental supply in the capital is very tight, as demand increases while Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth and Darwin have fallen the most.

At the same time, the demand for rents has increased, particularly in the capital, especially for apartments for rent. Especially in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. 

An analysis of the SA3 area with the largest year-on-year increase in the number of occupants on a list shows that rental competition in parts of Sydney has increased over the past 12 months, the number of people on the list having almost doubled in some areas. . .

Although it did not make the top 10, rental competition in Brisbane areas like Sherwood and Nathan was also on the rise.

Tight supply and strong demand have put pressure on tight store rents which are not expected to ease anytime soon.