Ray White chief economist Nerida Conisbee revealed Brisbane is the only city to have seen an increase in rental price growth. (Source: Getty)
Tenants across Australia will rejoice in knowing that rental price growth is starting to slow. However, one capital city is bucking that trend and renters have been warned to "prepare for a different reality".
New CoreLogic data has revealed Brisbane is showing no signs of slowing down, with median rents jumping 8.3 per cent in the last 12 months. Ray White's chief economist Nerida Conisbee told Yahoo Finance the future looks grim.
"We think it'll get worse because we still have big problems in the construction sector and we can't see it improving," she said.
In the 12 months to February last year, there was a 4.3 per cent increase recorded in Brisbane's median rental prices.
Fast forward 12 more months, and that number has nearly doubled.
The Queensland capital is the only city to have recorded a hike.
Conisbee said the 2032 Olympic Games host city is facing several factors contributing to this jump.
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High population growth
There's been a steady influx of people from interstate and overseas, which places more pressure on an already struggling and high-demand rental market.
Australian Bureau of Statistics data showed net overseas migration was the largest contributor to Greater Brisbane's population increase, with 44,300 new residents.
There were 15,600 people who moved from other parts of Queensland and others states, as well as a natural increase of 13,100 people.
Conisbee said migration trends like this can "rapidly change local housing needs".
Construction issues
The building and construction industries are facing a "perfect storm" as they try to juggle major infrastructure projects, residential development and a surge in commercial construction.
These bigger projects are "consuming significant building capacity" that would normally go towards erecting homes.
"The Olympic Games will become increasingly important in terms of taking away construction capacity from building houses over the next 10 years," Conisbee told Yahoo Finance.
The workers themselves also need housing, which eats into availability.
Huge cost increases
While those industries try to keep up with demand, they're also facing massive increases in the cost of building a home.
Brisbane has seen an "unusually high" rate of construction companies entering receivership, which puts more pressure on the remaining companies to get the job done.
According to the Australian Investments and Securities Commission (ASIC), out of the 1,952 construction firms reported falling into administration or receivership in the 2023-24 financial year, nearly 300 of them came from Queensland.
Tropical Cyclone Alfred
The storm that wreaked havoc across south-east Queensland and northern NSW has taken many rental properties out of commission in Brisbane.
Fewer homes on the market means more competition and that can push rental prices higher as people try to secure a home.
Brisbane is the only capital city to record an increase in median rent price growth. (Source: Ray White/CoreLogic/Getty)
What should renters in Brisbane do about these increases?
Conisbee warned that you should try your best to lock in your rental price as soon as possible.
"That might be negotiating a three-year term on your property if you expect to remain in the property for some time," she told Yahoo Finance.
She also encouraged younger renters to try and buy a home if they had the means.
"Obviously, it has become more expensive in Brisbane, but there is a lot of federal government help available," the chief economist added.
"I think looking into all of those programs is a really good idea at this point because we know that house prices aren't going to get cheaper, and we also know there'll be a lot of pressure on rents as well."
She warned that Brisbane could continue to see 12-month price increases of 5-10 per cent for a few years if nothing is done to fix the big issues affecting the market.
What about the rest of Australia?
Thankfully for people elsewhere in the country, price growth has slowed.
Perth recorded the biggest fall in growth, with 18.2 per cent recorded in February 2024 compared to just 5 per cent this year.
Adelaide and Melbourne also had hefty falls, with price growth dropping from 9.5 per cent last year to 4.3 per cent in 2025 in the South Australian city and 10.2 per cent to 4.5 per cent in the Victorian city.
Darwin fell from 3.1 per cent to 1.5 per cent, while Hobart had zero price growth.
Sydney also had zero price growth, but that's a huge change from the 11.9 per cent increase in the 12 months to February 2024.
Keep in mind that these decreases aren't rent prices falling, but their rate of growth is slowing. So prices are still going up, just not as much as in 2023.
"Average household sizes are returning to pre-COVID levels, creating additional capacity in the market," Conisbee said.
"While housing supply remains challenging, more homes are being built, and migration has stabilised. The national data shows rental growth declining from peaks of over 15 per cent after borders reopened to around five per cent currently.
"For renters in most of Australia, the data indicates welcome relief on the horizon."
