Contrary to popular belief, most people actually enjoy renting according to The Private Rental Sector in Australia report published by Bankwest Curtin Economics Centre.

This report gives us a great insight into the state of Australia’s private rental sector (PRS) through analysis of 2016 census data and a survey of 3,182 Australian private renters. The survey asked renters about issues such as the number of rental properties they have lived in, lease terms, property conditions, their relationship with their landlord/property manager and affordability.

The report has found around 30% of Australians rent, of which 26% are in the private rental sector (PRS).

When asked about their overall experiences of renting, 40% of respondents were very satisfied, just 14% were unsatisfied, while the remainder of respondents sat somewhere in between.

What is good to hear is the majority of respondents were happy with their dwellings; almost 69% of respondents rated the quality of their dwelling as good or excellent while only 6% of respondents complained their dwelling was in poor or terrible condition.

For landlords, it’s encouraging to find tenants are generally great; the survey found only 31% were forced to leave their last property and they cited the primary reason for a forced leave was the owner selling the property followed by the owner wanted to move back in. Just 4.4 % were forced to leave because of violence or another incident.

We believe this survey sheds new light on what is often incorrectly, regarded as a dysfunctional tenure where people only reside because they have no other options. These findings paint quite a positive picture of the PRS and suggests those on moderate incomes have generally favourable experiences with renting.

Indeed, we’ve know several landlords who own an investment property in one location while they live in a rented property in a location they can’t afford to buy in.

Handy statistics for landlords

The survey also reveals some handy statistics for landlords when they’re looking at who to target and where to market their investment property:

• Private renters come from all income levels although around 60% have a household income of $78,000 or less.
• The most common age group for private renters is 25-34 (slightly over 30% of renters) with just under 10% of 55-64 and 65+ age groups renting privately.
• 36% of PRS households contain children, and 27% live in an apartment.
• When asked if they would choose to sign a lease longer than one year, if available, 46% stated they would while 39% replied maybe. Only 14% stated no.

When it comes to how tenants find their properties, over half of those renting through a real estate sourced their property through an internet portal, while 48% renting through a private arrangement found their property through a friend or relative.

You can find the full report at this link: http://bcec.edu.au/assets/BCEC-Private-Rental-Sector-in-Australia-Report_final_web.pdf

If you want to learn more about the rental market in Newcastle and how we manage our properties to ensure tenants are happy, get in touch.

We’ve helped hundreds of people realise their financial dreams through investing in property, so come on in to our Cardiff office for a chat or give us a call on 02 4956 9777.

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