Yahoo Finance ‘Total mayhem’ as 200 people show for house inspection
A suburb in Sydney’s south-west was thrust into chaos as “200 plus” potential renters turned up for a house inspection, as the rental market tightens.
A neighbour captured the scenes in Hinchinbrook where cars had completely blocked the street and people lined the sidewalk.
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“This is unbelievable. One house goes up for rent in south-west Sydney and it’s total mayhem,” TikToker Kuzman67 can be heard saying in the video.
“200-plus, maybe more, turned up. Total gridlock of the whole street. People driving on grass, on footpaths, parking everywhere and blocking driveways.”
Police were dispatched to the area to control the crowd and clear the traffic which was gridlocked for around 30 minutes.
This comes as renters are becoming increasingly desperate with a lack of available homes.
Research commissioned by Well Home Loans identified a number of Aussies suburbs where there were only up to three available rental properties.
The lack of available housing has seen prices skyrocket with some suburbs seeing rents increase as much as $250 per week in the last year.
Well Home Loans CEO Scott Spencer said there were two different stories playing out, with investors in a strong position and tenants struggling to find a home.
“If you’re an investor in a suburb that contains only three vacant rental properties, tenants have to compete hard for your property, which gives you the chance to push up rents,” he said.
“Conversely, if you’re a tenant, life is really tough, because it’s difficult to find accommodation and you know rents are climbing fast.”
The Domain Vacancy Rates: December 2021 report found that renters were struggling to find properties across the nation, and the problem could get worse.
Domain chief of research and economics Nicole Powell said the conditions for renters at the moment were tight.
“While we saw a slight increase in the number of available rental properties in December, we are very much operating in a landlords' market,” she said.
“Early in 2022, it’s likely we’ll see decreases in the number of vacant rental properties as strong historical rental demand in January reduces the number of vacant rental listings.”
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