As any rent-paying Sydneysider can attest, finding a home in the Harbour City isn’t easy. Earlier this year, rents in Sydney reached and all-time high – and although the experts at Domain suggested that we could be reaching a turning point, we’re yet to see rental costs falling. According to the real estate experts over at Domain, the average asking rent for a unit in Sydney currently sits at $700 per week – $150 more than down in Melbourne. In fact, according to Domain, rent for units and houses in Sydney has risen by 13.6 per cent and 12.9 per cent respectively in the past 12 months – bringing the median asking rent for a house in the Harbour City up to $750 per week. So, to make scoring the keys to your dream property a little easier, we’ve spoken with real estate agents from across Sydney, to get their top tips for getting the upper hand on other rental applicants when you find a gem that's within your budget.
1. The first tip: Re-evaluate your budget. Anne Crarey, Executive General Manager of Property Services at Australia’s largest independent real estate agency Little Real Estate, explains that going slightly over budget could allow you to ultimately secure a better deal. “Go over your budget carefully and see if there’s any wiggle room to moving to a different rental bracket. You might find less competition by looking at a different price range,” Crarey explains.
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2. OK, so you probably don't want to hear this one, but if you find an affordable place below your budget and you could pay more, Eric Wong (a property agent from Lucca Property) encourages applicants to actively offer more rent upon application. “You'd be surprised at how effective simply offering more rent can be," Wong states. "But it's crucial that this comes from the tenants proactively."
3. Above points aside, Wong also emphasises how character can sometimes trump cash. According to Wong, ensuring you present a heartfelt character reference can be the clincher in getting the keys to your dream Sydney digs. "A sincere, non-templated reference from a landlord has swayed my recommendations more times than I can count – even for tenants offering less rent."
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4. Next up is a tip that die hard Bondi-dwellers won’t want to hear. “Consider other areas,” says Anne Crarey – even one suburb away. Having worked in the property industry in Australia for over 25 years, Crarey has gained a deep understanding of how rental prices can vary vastly based on the suburb – even for properties within a stone's throw of each other. Crarey encourages Sydneysiders seeking a home to consider neighbouring suburbs, citing Bondi and neighbouring Edgecliff as an example of how prices can vary.
“Consider whether you really need to live somewhere like Bondi, which has a rental vacancy rate as of April 2024 of 2.6 per cent and a median rental price of $1,550. Nearby is Edgecliff, which has a higher vacancy rate of 3.2 per cent and a lower average rent of $1,250,” she explains.
“It can pay off to slightly widen your location search both financially and in terms of the choice of properties available to you.”
5. Finally, Crarey says that renters in Sydney should learn to accept compromise. “You might have to make some compromises when it comes to finding the perfect rental property in the Sydney market at the moment. Perhaps you have to settle for an older style kitchen or bathroom or ditch your dream of having a balcony or views. Sometimes getting your foot in the door of the rental market and securing a property means accepting something that perhaps isn’t exactly what you want – but at least gives you a roof over your head and some security.”
In the words of Eric Wong, “Australia's rental market is a battleground,” so any tactics you can whip out when it comes to it should help your cause.
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