Setting up base in a busy share house is a rite of passage for young Sydneysiders and the thousands of international students and ocean-loving explorers who choose to make the Harbour City home. Because as appealing as city life is, it doesn’t come cheap – so splitting the load and joining a share house is a natural, fail-safe solution (especially if you want to live within walking distance of one of Sydney's beautiful beaches). Unfortunately, the maths isn’t as simple as it seems. If the communal lifestyle wasn't challenging enough (between piles of dirty dishes, noisy housemates and landlord battles), new data has unveiled just how much this (supposedly) more affordable way of life is hurting the hip pockets of renters. And it's not pretty.
A survey of more than 10,000 people from across Australia by Flatmates.com.au has revealed the most expensive suburbs to rent a room in Sydney, by the median cost that renters pay per week. Topping the list was Warriewood: the most expensive suburb in the city and country, with a whopping $600 median weekly room price. That’s $2,400 a month. For one room. Yikes. This is more than double the national median weekly rental price, which is just $290. Also in the top five most expensive Sydney suburbs for room rentals were Darling Point, Sydney CBD, Bondi and Bondi Junction.
Bronte, Rose Bay and Manly also appeared in the top ten priciest suburbs – that sea-side surcharge is a thing.
The survey results found that more and more people are turning to share house living, amid the cost of living crisis and the tight rental market. Almost half of all respondents said the main reason they chose to live with others was simply because they couldn't afford to live on their own. This goes for both renters and homeowners, who are choosing to lease spare rooms to offset rising interest rates and financial challenges. Flatmates.com.au reported that the fastest-growing demographic of members on their site in the last year was the 55 to 64-year-old bracket, followed by the 65 to 74-year-olds. Pretty grim.
"Australians are looking for new ways to navigate the rental crisis and tackle the rising cost of living," says Flatmates.com.au community manager Claudia Conley. "Over the past year, our audience has grown in size and diversity, and with the peak season for share accommodation at our doorstep, we expect demand for share house living to grow."
"Share accommodation is a long-term and legitimate way to live for many Australians, and until more homes are built to keep up with the demand for rentals, we expect share accommodation to remain popular."
So if you're living in a share house, you might want to settle down for a while. But hey, it's not all bad. You might not be besties with your housemates 24/7, but you'll always have someone to watch trashy reality TV shows and share an Uber Eats order with. Which sounds pretty good to us.
The top ten most expensive suburbs in Sydney to rent a room by median weekly room price:
- Warriewood: $600
- Darling Point: $590
- Sydney: $575
- Bondi Beach: $560
- Bondi Junction: $538
- Bronte: $500
- Cremorne: $500
- Erskineville: $500
- Manly: $500
- Rose Bay: $490