The 10 WA regional centres feeling the rental crunch

On the state’s southern tip, Albany is experiencing an incredibly tight rental market, with just 17 properties available to rent last month, according to REIWA, its lowest point since September 2006. Vacancy rates in the region ended 2022 at 0.3 per cent, while median weekly rents are approximately $395.

Broome, in Western Australia’s far north, had nearly double the amount of properties available for rent (38). Despite this seemingly low rate of availability, the region’s vacancy rate sat at 7.1 per cent in December, though REIWA clarified this is due to the seasonal nature of the area’s rental market and the fact vacancies increase during the wet season.

Not since 2010 have fewer properties been on offer to tenants in Bunbury than right now (36), even with a vacancy rate of 2.5 per cent. Median rents in the region are currently $475.

Meanwhile, Busselton is another area within the state experiencing near-record lows, with only October 2021 offering fewer rental properties than the current seven available. The region is experiencing a peak in median weekly rents, which hit $600 last month.

Esperance is also experiencing the rental market crunch. The region possessed five available rentals at the end of 2022, an improvement on the record low of zero in September 2021 but well below the record high of 64 set in August 2018.

With 38 properties available, the regional hub of Geraldton boasts a current vacancy rate of 1.5 per cent, three times greater than Kalgoorlie-Boulder’s 0.5 per cent, despite the latter’s 68 available rental properties.

Like others on the list, the number of rental availabilities in Karratha in the state’s north is at a near-decade low. Similarly, Port Hedland and surrounding areas have not been this starved of rental stock since March 2010, with just 12 dwellings available to prospective tenants.