Record Rents in Every Capital — The Landlord's Market Is Here

Every capital city in Australia just hit record high rents at the same time — and Domain's chief economist has already called it what it is: a landlord's market. The real story is not just the record numbers, but the way supply, rates and policy are tightening the rental market at once. → National median advertised rent: $670 a week, up 3.1% in one quarter → Annual rent growth: 6.4%, with quarterly momentum annualising near 13% → Sydney house rents: up $50 in one quarter to a record $850 a week → Brisbane rents: record $700 a week → Darwin unit rents: up 18.2% in a year → National vacancy rate: under 1%, with listings 16.7% below the five-year average → Average renter cost: $12,480 a year more than five years ago What this means for investors is straightforward: tighter supply, falling borrowing costs and record rents are improving the income case for well-bought property. But the policy mix is shifting the burden onto future investors, which is exactly why professional data and a buyers agent matter now more than ever. Download our no-cost Top Five Markets Report 2026 → https://ripe.house/five-markets Subscribe for more data-led Australian property analysis. #AustralianProperty #PropertyInvesting #BuyersAgent #RentalMarket #LandlordMarket #SydneyProperty This video is general information only and not financial or investment advice. Consider your own circumstances and seek professional advice.

every capital city in Australia just hit record high rents, every single one at the same time. That has never happened before and Domain's chief economist just said the quiet part out loud. Renters are quote, operating in a landlord's market. Her words, not mine. That's the ABC yesterday. Now here's what nobody in that article will say directly. So I will, this wasn't an accident. This is what a failed federal budget policy looks like when it collides with a rate war. And by the end of this video, I'll show you exactly who wins, who pays and what I'm doing about it with my own money. Here are the numbers and I want to be precise because precision is what makes this scary. The national median advertised rent just hit $670 a week, a record. It rose 3.1% in a single quarter. The official annual figure is 6.4%. But here's the part the headline barriers. At the current quarterly pace, national rents are annualizing at nearly 13%. The actual annual number is 6.4. The momentum is double digits. And in one market, double digits isn't a projection. It already happened. Sydney house rents jumped $50 in one quarter. The biggest quarterly rise in four years to a record $850 a week. That's 6.25% in 90 days. If that pace held for a year, you're looking at 27% growth. Brisbane hit a record 700. And Darwin, Darwin unit rents are up 18.2% in a year. That's actual, not annualized. That is what already happened. Darwin just overtook Perth as the second most expensive city in the country to rent a house. Now, why? What snapped? Supply snapped. The national vacancy rate, houses and units, is now under 1%. Fewer than one rental in a hundred is available. Rental listings are 16.7% below the five-year average. And Cotality's head of research published this line yesterday, quote, "'Tenants are left with very little leverage." A real estate agent in the ABC piece described inquiries flooding in the moment a listing goes live. Flatmates, parents, cousins, co-applying just to compete. That's the demand side. Now let's talk about who took a blowtorch to the supply side, because this is where the budget comes in. In May, one week after the RBA hiked, the treasurer stood up and sold a budget as housing reform. The centerpiece from July next year, negative gearing only applies to new builds. Buy an existing home as an investment, and the tax treatment that underpinned the numbers for 50 years is gone. Existing landlords, fully grandfathered, they keep everything. Then in June, the Senate banned new SMSF lending for residential property while leaving commercial untouched. I covered that stitch up in a previous video. This was sold as helping renters and first home buyers. So let's mark the homework, did it? Now I'm going to do something the rage merchants won't, steel man the other side. Dr. Powell herself says it's too early to pin these rent numbers on the budget. Quote, "'The real test will come in the months and years ahead as investors adjust to the new policy environment.'" And she's right about three things. This crisis predates the budget. Rents are up 40.6% over five years versus 12% the five years before. Existing landlords are grandfathered, so nobody got forced to sell. And investor lending was still up 25% year on year heading into the budget. So the budget didn't light this fire. Here's my verdict on what it actually did. The budget didn't create the fire, it poured fuel on it and then bolted the exits shut. Follow the chain and notice every link is someo