Share accommodation booming in Brisbane

Aaron Wischusen

Tuesday June 16 2015

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Shared living is on the rise in Brisbane according to the latest data released from Australia’s biggest share accommodation site Flatmates.com.au.

New listings on the site have surged 140% in the first quarter of 2015 compared with the same period last year.

The average room price in the Queensland capital is also on the up, with rooms across the city increasing from $182.17 per week (pw) in 2014 to $194.86 this quarter.

General Manager of Flatmates.com.au, Thomas Clement, said they were surprised to see such a large amount of growth in the Brisbane share accommodation market.

“Historically, rental prices in Brisbane have been at a more manageable level compared with Sydney and Melbourne, where share accommodation is the only option for many people to rent.”

“However, the rising cost of living in Brisbane could be one factor that is forcing more people to share accommodation.”

Despite an 80% increase in new listings for Sydney over the same period, Brisbane managed to briefly overtake both Sydney and Melbourne to become the number one place to look for share accommodation in March.

Clement said it was the first time that Brisbane had dethroned Sydney and Melbourne.

“Sydney and Melbourne have always been share accommodation centres due to their population, size and high rent costs.” Clement said.

“We expected growth across all capital cities, but to to see Brisbane’s interest in sharing more than triple in less than 12 months was definitely unexpected.”

St Lucia was the most popular share accommodation suburb in Brisbane closely followed by Spring Hill and the CBD.

The South Brisbane suburb of Dutton Park was the most expensive place to rent a room with the average price hovering at $276.04pw, while the most affordable was Sunnybank Hills with an average of $148.35pw.

Nationally, Sydney continued to dominate the property market with the state capital taking out 44 of the 50 most expensive share suburbs. Melbourne suburbs took three of the spots, with Brisbane and Perth holding just two and one spots, respectively.

The inner city suburb of Pyrmont claimed the most expensive suburb to rent a room in the nation with an average asking price of $351.73pw.

ENDS//

author

Aaron Wischusen

aaron@flatmates.com.au

@flatmates

Public Relations and Community Manager