A shock as rents fall in almost 1 in 10 places

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A shock as rents fall in almost 1 in 10 places

The biggest decline of all suburbs came in the Australian Capital Territory where the Oaks Estate division saw median rents drop by -36.9 per cent year-on-year.

Rents fell in nearly one in 10 places across the country, marking a major turnaround in the chronic housing crisis — as 58 foreclosures fell by double digits.

These falls are spread across the continent’s capital and regional markets, and make up just over 9 percent of the suburbs surveyed in PropTrack’s latest February quarterly tax data.

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A one-bedroom unit on Park Road, Yeerongpilly, was taken from a deposit after being paid $450 a week with a bond of $1,800.

Greater Sydney, long regarded as one of the country’s strongest rental markets, had the highest number of suburbs with 102 falling rents by 17.7 per cent.

Greater Melbourne had 91 declines, Adelaide 58, ACT 40, Brisbane 29, Perth 21 and Darwin 5, while the decline in regional rental rates was led by New South Wales (84), followed by 53 in Queensland, 38 Victoria, 12 Tasmania, 12 in 9NT in SA, 5 in NT and two in WA in SA.

The biggest drop of all towns came out of the Australian Capital Territory where rents for an Oaks Estate unit fell a whopping -36.9% year-on-year from $650 in February 2025 to $410 in February 2026.

Other steep falls included Weetakera (ACT) units, down 32.9 per cent, Strahan (Tas) houses, down 25.3 per cent, Bald Hills (Qld) units, down 20.4 per cent and Kent Town (SA) houses, down 20 per cent.

The data includes February median rental prices for houses and units in all cities with sufficient data – meaning there must be a minimum of 10 rental listings for all time periods to be included.

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An Oaks Estate unit in the complex is listed for $765 a week, close to double the suburb median.

Sydney’s biggest declines came from Norah Head homes, down 17.7 per cent, Blue Bay down 17.5 per cent, and Middle Cove rents down 13.5 per cent year-on-year.

Melbourne’s outdoor and lifestyle areas were also hit, with Wonga Park down 18.8 per cent, Pentland Hills down 18.2 per cent and Monbulk down 14.6 per cent.

In Brisbane, Tennyson houses fell by 16.7 per cent, Yeerongpilly fell by 16.9 per cent and Bald Hills units fell by more than 20 per cent.

Even pockets of prestige were not protected in East Lindfield on Sydney’s North Shore which saw rents drop 10 per cent to $1,440 a week, while Salter Point in Perth fell 10 per cent to $900.

Regional markets – which have led to job losses during the pandemic – also recorded significant corrections with Federal in northern NSW down 11.4 per cent, Clare in South Australia down 10 per cent, and Onslow in Western Australia down 10 per cent.

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Housing experts have been warning that the affordable roof is out of reach across the country after years of rapid rent growth, including high house prices and homelessness Q Shelter has called for more protections for tenants including limits on rent increases linked to inflation.

Its pre-budget presentation to the Queensland state government warned that “much more needs to be done to ensure people in deep trouble have access to housing and are not sleeping rough, couchsurfing or living in cars”.

‘Pressure in the housing market continues due to low rental vacancies, moderate house prices, and rising rental costs. This ensures a continued level of investment in current humanitarian capacity while we pursue deep reforms that ensure a healthy housing system for the long term. “

It said the state needs to “target affordable housing where people pay a discount to market rent and where that discount brings housing to less than 30 percent of their income”.

PropTrack data showed that more than 5,000 suburbs are experiencing increases across all major states and counties, with just over 360 seeing rents at the same level as last year.