The news for renters across Australia just keeps getting worse. New data shows rental affordability nationwide is now at its lowest level in 17 years with wages failing to keep up with the increased cost of a lease. New South Wales has overtaken Tasmania as the worst state for affordability. Economists say there simply aren't enough rentals to meet demand, insisting the supply of new housing must be increased.
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TVTranscript
00:00 Anastasia Martin is trying to move house and has spent the past 12 months applying.
00:07 Today we've been to probably this would be maybe our 15th inspection.
00:13 The 24-year-old says her minimum wage is stretched extremely thin.
00:18 By the end of the week after I've paid all my bills I'm lucky if I have $50.
00:22 Renting is now less affordable than it was in the aftermath of the global financial crisis
00:28 Since the start of the pandemic rents nationally are up 38%.
00:34 New South Wales is the most unaffordable state while Victoria is the most affordable
00:40 but rents in Melbourne still went up more than 18% over the past year.
00:45 Rental vacancy rates are incredibly low across the country at the moment
00:49 which means it's very competitive to find a rental.
00:52 Prices are being bid up when they are available.
00:54 Median income in Australia has only grown about half the rate of rental prices.
01:00 The research found a middle income household earning $111,000 could only afford about 40% of advertised properties
01:10 while almost no rentals were considered affordable for households in the lowest income band.
01:16 Yes quite stressful because when I put all my filter in it's only that little properties coming out.
01:23 We found two that we really liked but we were not approved for some reason.
01:28 Solving this longer term in a sustainable way really has to be about increasing the supply of homes.
01:33 The problems that we're facing at the moment and where this crisis is stemming from is just not having enough rental properties.
01:40 We're lucky they're taking advantage of us now.
01:42 It feels like we have no rights as tenants and the real estates have all the rights and the owners can do whatever they want.
01:50 I think there's a real case to be made for raising Commonwealth rent assistance.
01:53 assistance.
01:53 [BLANK_AUDIO]