Where you can still rent in Australia for less than $300 per week

If you’ve ever reeled at the number on the receipt after a big supermarket shop, the sight of these rental prices may surprise you.

It is possible to rent in Australia for less than the cost of a family-sized trolley of groceries.

A collection of regional locations, including cities with long-established industries and jobs, has median weekly rental prices of $300 and under, according to Domain’s September Rent Report. In several instances, that is, even after annual and five-year price growth.

These include Whyalla on South Australia’s Eyre Peninsula, the Victorian border town Swan Hill and Tasmania’s port hub of Burnie.

Domain economist Joel Bowman says regional towns and cities that have experienced price increases tend to have tight vacancy rates.

“It doesn’t necessarily take a large swing in people looking at the area to, all of a sudden, drive a big shortage of housing options,” he says. “While economic and employment factors are important, housing supply is also really key, as well.

“We still do have a steady stream of people who are looking at moving from the capitals to the regions. And no doubt, housing affordability is a big factor that drives people further out, where they can potentially get more value for money.”

Buyers’ agent and managing director of Propertyology, Simon Pressley, says there are opportunities to rent and invest – as a landlord – in what he terms “mini-capital cities”.

“We live in a country with more than 400 individual towns and cities, and there are well over 100 of them that have diverse, robust economies with all of the essential infrastructure,” he says.

“I advocate anyone who wants to contemplate investing to disregard the word ‘home’, because you’re not buying your home. Disregard where you happen to live. We use the term borderless property investor. “

Swan Hill is one of many regional cities that could do with more housing stock, according to property manager Alistair Ward of LJ Hooker.

The Tower Hill precinct is popular with tenants seeking a modern home with a backyard, and new builds, such as the polished, two-bedroom townhouse at 3/13-15 Kimberley Avenue, are always in demand.

However, applications are rolling in across all housing types, and the traditional supply and demand cycle has been replaced by year-round appetite. “I’ve got a one-bedroom unit available for rent at the moment at $220 per week, and I’ve had 50 applicants for it in a two-week period,” Ward says.

He says new residents come to Swan Hill for work in farming, building and healthcare, and stay for a relaxed lifestyle, food and wine, warm weather, sporting culture and community.

Try these …

Stawell, Victoria

With a median rental price of $250 per week, tenants may want to make a run for Stawell – home of Australia’s richest footrace – in the Wimmera region.

$175 per week

Unit 4/21 Jennings St, Stawell VIC 3380

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Whyalla, South Australia

The fourth-most populated city in SA, after Adelaide, Mount Gambier and Gawler, has a weekly median rental price of $260. Whyalla is a seaport and regarded as the “capital” of the Eyre Peninsula.

$300 per week

31 Syme Street, Whyalla SA 5600

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Moe, Victoria

The profile of Gippsland has been rising, as residents from Melbourne’s outer suburbs seek a tree change. Renters will find leases here at a median of $270 per week.

$455 per week

17 Randall Crescent, Moe VIC 3825

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Port Augusta, South Australia

The coastal city is about 300 kilometres from Adelaide and has been dubbed the “crossroads of Australia” for its intersection of major roads and rail. The median rent clocks in at $275 per week.

$350.00 per week

4 Park Place, Port Augusta SA 5700

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Menzies, Queensland

Menzies is a suburb of Mount Isa, in outback Queensland. Famous for its mining industry, which started in the 1920s, rents here will cost a tenant a median of $290 per week.

$420 pw

105 Miles Street, Menzies QLD 4825

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