A local property expert says that some renters are being priced out of the Hills, with rental prices continuing to increase despite “slightly” steadying in the past six months.
According to realestate.com.au, median rental prices at Mt Barker, Strathalbyn and Bridgewater have increased by 6.7%, 6.2% and 2.5% respectively, in the past 12 months.
Raine & Horne Mt Barker senior property manager Denise Christou said that renters on an average single income “are going to struggle” to afford a rental in the region.
“Prices are going up – they’ve stalled a bit over the last six months. There’s still a demand, but it’s not like it was 12 months ago and nothing like it was during Covid-19, when we had line-ups down to the end of the street,” she said.
Ms Christou receives “many enquiries” for properties with a weekly rental price of less than $500, but these are in short-supply.
“Once you get over $500, you pretty much need a double-income family for that,” she said.
“When you get up to $600 or $700, you’re starting to get into high-salary brackets to afford those.”
Ms Christou said new legislation was introduced in July 2024, which created stronger protections for tenants in SA.
Rent increases were limited to once a year as part of the changes, which Ms Christou believed “had shackled” the property management industry.
“What you’re seeing because of that: when there’s an opportunity to increase the rent, you have to increase it based on what you think is going to happen for the next 12 months – that includes RBA increases.”
Leonie James owns a house at Mt Barker and has been renting it out for the past five years.
She said “not all landlords are just in it for the money”, but were subject to rising interest rates and other associated costs.
“I have been locked in interest at 1.9% for the last five years, (but) my interest has just unlocked to 6.6%.
“This is huge and I can’t absorb that myself, so rent had to go up for my tenant,” she said.
“I didn’t take advantage of increasing rental prices, I kept it the same, around $100-150 less than the average for a three-bedroom home in Mt Barker.”
While renting out her Mt Barker property, Ms James has been renting at Hallet Cove to be closer to family.
But now her rent exceeds both her mortgage and the profits from her Mt Barker property, so she said she will be moving back to the Hills in June.
“Our rent jumped up $60 per week (and) it was because of their interest rate changing also,” she said.
“It sucks and because of this, I can’t afford to stay here.
“I now have to move back into my house and my tenant has to move out.”
