Gold Coast most expensive rental market but with 'wide spectrum' of prices

Rents on the Gold Coast have hit a record high, with the median weekly rent for houses reaching $950 and units $850 in the June quarter, according to property website Domain. Data from the REA Group's PropTrack showed a slightly lower median asking rent of $890 for the Gold Coast, reflecting a 2.5 percent increase in the three months to June.

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Units are all about location. They're [in] prime, coastal locations or very inner-city locations, and that helps to push that price point up.

This strong rental growth aligns with a national trend, where combined capital city rents experienced their fastest rise in nearly two years. Broadbeach Waters emerged as the most expensive suburb for house rentals at $1,500 per week, followed by Clear Island Waters and Bundall. For units, Main Beach led at $1,100 per week, with Benowa and Burleigh Heads close behind.

Domain's chief of research and economics, Nicola Powell, explained that units often command higher prices due to their prime coastal or inner-city locations. She noted that market conditions, including three interest rate hikes this year and a persistent shortage of rental supply, are allowing landlords to pass on increased costs. "It's still a landlord's market," Powell stated.

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Ultimately, market conditions are allowing those rent increases to be passed through. We've seen three rate hikes this year, there's not enough rental supply, it's still a landlord's market.

However, Powell emphasized that the Gold Coast does not have a single, uniform rental market. She highlighted a "wide spectrum of price points" across the region. While the northern end experienced the fastest percentage growth in rents over the past year, it remains the most affordable area. Pimpama offered the cheapest house rents at a median of $743 per week, while Nerang had the lowest unit rents at $650. Powell advised tenants to conduct thorough market research, as some suburbs have seen flat or even slightly declining rents despite overall growth.

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What's interesting is that reminder that we don't really have that one single rental market in the Gold Coast. If you're a tenant trying to secure a lease, looking for something more affordable, or you're in that negotiation of redoing your lease, make sure you do your market research because there's some suburbs across the Gold Coast that have seen really strong rates of growth but there's actually some suburbs that have either flatlined or seen a slight dip.