The Brisbane suburbs where rents have increased most

Brisbane’s rental prices have remained relatively steady over the past 12 months, but that doesn’t mean there hasn’t been any big changes in rental prices across the city. So which suburbs have seen the biggest price hikes, and which have seen the biggest reductions?

When it comes to units, Bardon recorded the highest jump in rental price in the past 12 months. The north-western suburb saw an 18 per cent increase up to a median weekly rent price of $560, which is consistent with a 20 per cent increase over the past five years.

Smaller units have recently popped up in the suburb and were likely to account for the bump in price.

Bardon has height restrictions so we don’t have all the high-rises, but we do have a lot of smaller units and townhouses, they’re not high rise, the top would be tHicks Real Estatee levels. But nice, and fairly new.

Most of the rental interest in the area came from more established renters who were interested in the location and surrounding amenities.

Bardon is the catchment zone for two very good schools, Bardon State School and Rainworth State School. A lot of people look for the good schools, and then want to stay in that area. [We see] more professionals sharers and families because of the schools, and close proximity to the city. [There’s also] easy access to get to Mt Cootha and the western suburbs.

Elsewhere, Yerongpilly in Brisbane’s south saw a strong 14.3 per cent increase in unit rent prices year-on-year, while nearby suburb Holland Park jumped a similarly strong 11.1 per cent.

Meanwhile, house rent prices increased the most in Fortitude Valley, with the central suburb posting a 16.3 per cent jump. The median weekly rent price was $500 in the area. Leasing associate Connor Hadwen, said the increase was likely due to the market catching up to the recent apartment boom.

“The oversupply of apartments has mostly been filled at the moment,” he said. “So compared to five years ago, the rental prices are returning to normal levels. It’s just the suburb growth matching back to normal levels.”

In fact, Domain economist Trent Wiltshire said the most notable broad trend in Brisbane’s rental market in the past 12 months was a 6.25 per cent increase in rent price for units in inner-city Brisbane suburbs like Fortitude Valley.

“That’s a surprise given what we know has been happening in the Brisbane apartment market in the inner city,” he said. “Brisbane’s gone through a huge apartment building boom over the last few years. Despite that, rents have increased over the past year by 6 per cent.

“It’s only up by 6 per cent over five years, so it has been held down over the last few years by the big building boom, but it’s just jumped in the past year. This says to me that there’s ongoing strong demand for new apartments.”

Mr Hadwen said he had seen strong interstate and international interest in Fortitude Valley, and its surrounding suburbs of New Farm, Teneriffe, and Newstead.

“We tend to see not huge families coming to live here, but people moving here for employment opportunities. [People] wanting to live close to the city.”

Another suburb that posted a large increase in house rent price was Fig Tree Pocket in Brisbane’s south-west. It saw a 12.5 per cent jump for a median weekly rent price of $675. Closer to the CBD, Ashgrove saw an increase of 10.6 percent making for a median weekly house rent price of $575.

On the other end of the spectrum, the apartment rental market in Rocklea in Brisbane’s south saw the biggest dip across the city, with rent dropping 8.9 per cent year on year consistent with an 8.9 per cent drop in the past five years. The current median weekly rent price for units in the area is $280.

When it comes to houses, the western suburb of Chelmer saw the biggest drop at 11.2 per cent. This could be an anomaly, however, given the area’s 26.2 per cent increase over the past five years. The current median weekly rent price for houses in the area is $675.