Priced Out: An Index of Affordable Rentals for Australian Voters<\/em> (2025)<\/a>, published by Everybody\u2019s Home, reveals a rental crisis that\u2019s no longer just affecting low-income earners.<\/p>\nToday, even middle-income Australians, nurses, teachers, police officers, and other essential workers are struggling to afford rent in our capital cities.<\/p>\n
And it\u2019s not just in Sydney and Melbourne; affordability is worsening nationwide, from Perth to Brisbane and even regional areas.<\/p>\n
So how bad is it?<\/strong><\/p>\nWell, let\u2019s put it this way:<\/p>\n
\n- A person earning $60,000 per year is now spending between 50% and 70% of their income on rent in many areas.<\/li>\n
- Even those on $100,000 struggle to afford rentals in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, and Canberra.<\/li>\n
- If you earn $40,000 per year? You\u2019re looking at rental costs as high as 82% of your income nationally\u2014and in places like Sydney or the Gold Coast, it\u2019s well over 100%.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
For decades, renting was considered a stepping stone to home ownership.<\/p>\n
But with property prices soaring and rents following suit, many Australians are stuck in the rental market indefinitely.<\/p>\n
How did we get here?<\/p>\n
And more importantly, what\u2019s the solution?<\/p>\n
![\"Rental](\"https:\/\/cdn.propertyupdate.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/rental-crisis-800x533.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
Rental affordability in freefall: the key findings<\/span><\/h2>\nThe Priced Out<\/em> report compares weekly rents across Australia with different income levels to assess how many Australians are experiencing rental stress.<\/p>\nThe internationally accepted definition of rental stress is when housing costs exceed 30% of a household\u2019s income.<\/p>\n
National Rental Affordability Breakdown<\/h3>\n
For an average rental unit in Australia:<\/p>\n
\n
\n\n\n| Income Level<\/th>\n | Net Weekly Income<\/th>\n | Median Weekly Rent<\/th>\n | % of Income Spent on Rent<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n |
\n\n| $40,000<\/td>\n | $688<\/td>\n | $566<\/td>\n | 82%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
\n| $60,000<\/td>\n | $961<\/td>\n | $566<\/td>\n | 59%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
\n| $80,000<\/td>\n | $1,222<\/td>\n | $566<\/td>\n | 46%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
\n| $100,000<\/td>\n | $1,484<\/td>\n | $566<\/td>\n | 38%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
\n| $130,000<\/td>\n | $1,876<\/td>\n | $566<\/td>\n | 30% (just affordable)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n What\u2019s striking about these numbers is that rents are unaffordable for almost every income bracket under $130,000.<\/p>\n In many cases, people earning $70,000\u2013$100,000, what were once considered \u201ccomfortable\u201d salaries, are spending well over 30% of their income on rent.<\/p>\n But it gets worse in the capital cities.<\/p>\n Where is rent least affordable?<\/span><\/h2>\nUnsurprisingly, Sydney and the Gold Coast top the list of Australia\u2019s most unaffordable rental markets.<\/p>\n But Perth, Brisbane, and Melbourne aren\u2019t far behind:<\/p>\n \n- In Sydney, a person earning $40,000 a year would need to spend 102% of their income on rent. That means rent costs more than their entire income. \r\n
<\/div><\/li>\n - Even at $100,000 per year, rent still consumes 48% of income in Sydney.<\/li>\n
- Brisbane is nearly as bad, with rents taking up 86% of income for someone on $40,000 per year.<\/li>\n
- The Gold Coast is the worst offender, with rents exceeding 116% of income at the $40,000 bracket\u2014meaning it\u2019s essentially impossible for lower-income earners to live there without financial assistance.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Even in regional areas, affordability is still a challenge.<\/p>\n In places like Wollongong, the Sunshine Coast, and Newcastle, rent still consumes 40%\u201370% of income for many people.<\/p>\n In other words, it\u2019s not just inner-city professionals feeling the squeeze, rental stress is spreading nationwide.<\/p>\n Why is rent rising so rapidly?<\/span><\/h2>\n1. Lack of social and affordable housing<\/strong><\/p>\nFor decades, Australian governments have underinvested in social housing, instead relying on the private market to provide rental accommodation.<\/p>\n \n- In 1982, the federal government spent the equivalent of $164 per person on social housing.<\/li>\n
- In 2022, that figure had dropped to just $61 per person, despite population growth.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
This resulted in a shortfall of at least 940,000 affordable homes, pushing more people into an already strained private rental market.<\/p>\n 2. Investor-friendly tax policies pushing up prices<\/strong><\/p>\nThe report highlights how Australia\u2019s tax system encourages property speculation rather than providing homes for people who need them:<\/p>\n \n- Negative gearing allows investors to deduct rental losses from their taxable income, encouraging them to buy more properties.<\/li>\n
- Capital gains tax discounts make property speculation more attractive, driving up prices further.<\/li>\n
- In the last decade, these tax breaks have cost taxpayers over $86 billion\u2014money that could have been used to build affordable homes.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
3. Weak renter protections and unchecked rent hikes<\/strong><\/p>\nThe report also noted that:<\/p>\n \n- Unlike many European countries, Australia has no national limit on rent increases.<\/li>\n
- Landlords can evict tenants with minimal notice in most states.<\/li>\n
- States like Victoria and the ACT have introduced some protections, but many renters still face unfair rent hikes and insecure leases.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
![\"Rental](\"https:\/\/cdn.propertyupdate.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/rental-crisis-hope-800x551.jpg\") <\/p>\n
What needs to change?<\/span><\/h2>\n1. A National Social Housing Plan<\/strong><\/p>\nThe report calls for an urgent investment in social and affordable housing, proposing a target of 940,000 new social homes over 20 years.<\/p>\n \n- Countries like Austria, France, and the Netherlands have successfully kept rents affordable by investing in government-owned rental housing.<\/li>\n
- The Australian government must step up and treat housing as essential infrastructure\u2014like roads, hospitals, and schools.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
2. Phasing Out Investor Tax Breaks<\/strong><\/p>\n\n- The report recommends reducing the capital gains tax discount and phasing out negative gearing over a 10-year period.\u00a0This would free up billions in government revenue to fund affordable housing while discouraging speculative investment.<\/li>\n
- Of course I don't agree with thi<\/strong>s, property investors are an essential part of the rental equation because the government is not providing rental housing, however out of fairness I've included this recommendation from the report.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
3. Stronger rent controls and tenant protections<\/strong><\/p>\n\n- Limits on rent increases to prevent price gouging.<\/li>\n
- Abolition of no-cause evictions, providing renters with more security.<\/li>\n
- Minimum rental standards to ensure basic living conditions.<\/li>\n
- Independent enforcement of rental laws, so tenants don\u2019t have to fight landlords alone.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Final thoughts<\/span><\/h2>\nThe Priced Out<\/em> report paints a stark picture: Australia\u2019s rental crisis is no longer just a problem for low-income earners, it\u2019s affecting everyday working Australians.<\/p>\nWithout action, an entire generation will be locked out of stable housing, forced to spend unsustainable amounts on rent, or pushed to the outskirts of cities.<\/p>\n This isn\u2019t just a housing problem, it\u2019s an economic problem.<\/p>\n High rental costs affect workforce retention, productivity, and social stability.<\/p>\n If we\u2019re serious about fixing the housing crisis, we need real leadership, bold policy changes, and a commitment to treating housing as a fundamental right.<\/p>\n \r\n\r\n\r\n <\/div>\r\n <\/div><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Housing affordability has long been an issue in Australia, but a new report makes it clear, we\u2019re in uncharted territory. The new report,\u00a0Priced Out: An Index of Affordable Rentals for Australian Voters (2025), published by Everybody\u2019s Home, reveals a rental crisis that\u2019s no longer just affecting low-income earners. Today, even middle-income Australians, nurses, teachers, police…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":117,"featured_media":168747,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[54,1118,1186],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-188431","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-latest-property-updates","category-news-and-features","category-weekly_latest"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n How much do Australians need to earn to afford average rental now?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Housing affordability has long been an issue in Australia, but a new report makes it clear, we\u2019re in uncharted territory. 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