Renters in Falcon, named 8th out of 20 Western Australian suburbs where house rental rates have changed the most in the last 12 months, are struggling to find homes.
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Research by Suburbtrends in the 12 months to December 2021, revealed there were only two vacant properties available in Falcon. It also showed rental prices for houses had increased by $75 over the last 12 months.
Scott Spencer, chief executive of Well Home Loans, said there were two different stories playing out in the current rental market, with investors in a strong position and tenants in a weak position.
"If you're an investor in a suburb that contains only three vacant rental properties, tenants have to compete hard for your property, which gives you the chance to push up rents," he said.
"Conversely, if you're a tenant, life is really tough, because it's difficult to find accommodation and you know rents are climbing fast."
With a vacancy rate of only 0.65%, referring to the share of untenanted properties in the area, residents and potential residents of Falcon need to be prepared for a lack of supply, lengthy wait times and higher prices when looking to secure a home, he said.
"To make matters worse, all the suburbs in this report are in areas with very low vacancy rates, so even if tenants were prepared to move one or two suburbs along, they'd still find it hard to secure accommodation. That gives investors considerable market power."
Mr Spencer said tenants in these suburbs might want to consider buying, especially if rents had increased to a point where they were now more expensive than mortgage repayments.
That said, Mr Spencer noted that some of the suburbs had high levels of disadvantage, as measured by the Australian Bureau of Statistics, which would make it hard for local residents to get onto the property ladder.
Every suburb on the ranking had only one, two or three vacant rental properties when the research was conducted in December. To make sure every suburb had a legitimate rental market, those with fewer than 500 rental properties were excluded. To qualify as vacant, a property had to have been advertised for rent for 21 days or more.
20 WA suburbs in which it's hardest to find a rental:
1. North Beach (6020)
2. Mindarie (6030)
3. Madeley (6065)
4. Broadwater (6280)
5. Koondoola (6064)
6. Alkimos (6038)
7. Alexander Heights (6064)
8. Falcon (6210)
9. Dalyellup (6230)
10. Tuart Hill (6060)
11. Tapping (6065)
12. Girrawheen (6064)
13. Banskia Grove (6031)
14. Carey Park (6230)
15. Australind (6233)
16. Westminster (6061)
17. Wanneroo (6065)
18. Stirling (6021)
19. Mirrabooka (6061)
20. Swan View (6056)
