Canberra remains Australia's most expensive capital city in which to rent a house at a median cost of $690 per week, ahead of Sydney on $660, according to the Domain Rent Report March 2023 Quarter released today.
Most expensive cities for housing
The most expensive major city for housing and utilities is Sydney.
Canberra and Sydney are the most expensive cities for renters with the median unit price coming in at $550 per week, followed by Darwin ($520 per week), Brisbane ($465 per week), and Hobart ($462.50 per week).
Adelaide ($443 a week) South Australia's capital is the cheapest capital city in the country to rent a unit, with the median price hovering around $450 a week.
What is the cheapest place to live in Australia? Hobart, Tasmania is the cheapest place to live in Australia. The historic capital of Australia's smallest state offers low house prices and living costs amidst beautiful scenery.
The least expensive suburb or most affordable suburb to buy residential property is Kambalda East, in the east of WA with a median house price of $118,525. The cheapest suburb to purchase a unit was Laguna Quays in Queensland at a rather modest $72,076 (you can buy a decent electric vehicle for that price!)
Analysts say open borders and increased migration have driven demand for real estate – and increases in rental prices. What matters for rents, as for any price, is the demand for and the supply of the product being priced. More demand (more renters wanting properties) and the price climbs.
Singapore and New York City tied for the first rank amongst the world's most expensive cities in 2022, pushing Israel's Tel Aviv from the first place in 2021 to the third place in 2022.
Australia's most expensive suburbs will shock you with how much they cost. Image: Canva. Australia's most expensive suburbs by median house price are all concentrated in Sydney, the most expensive city in Australia, and one of the most expensive in the world.
The most expensive house in Australia was sold for $130 million in 2022. Australia's most expensive home sold, however, was at One Sydney Harbour for $140 million. The median house price in Point Piper is now $9.9 million.
Sydney has been ranked as the world's 10th most expensive city, according to the latest Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) report, thanks to the price of groceries, rent and everyday services, ranking equally with Copenhagen.
Melbourne is ranked as the world's 71st most expensive city out of the 227 cities surveyed for Mercer's 2023 Cost of Living Survey. Though ranked below Sydney, it's more expensive than Brisbane, Canberra, Adelaide and Perth.
In its report, Niche also ranked the cheapest places to live in the U.S. At the top of the list this year is Brownsville, Texas. Brownsville has been steadily rising in Niche's Lowest Cost of Living ranking over the past few years, placing number six in 2021, number three in 2022 and finally, number one in 2023.
Domain's Rent Report for the December 2022 quarter reveals Canberra remains the country's most expensive city to rent a house at the median rate of $690-per-week.
Rental market characteristics
Median rents began increasing in all states in 2021 and have continued to increase over the past year. In February 2023, the median weekly rent amount was highest in the ACT at $560 per week and lowest in South Australia at $380 per week (Figure 3).
CoreLogic's analysis of 3,904 house and unit markets nationally found for houses, just 9.1% of suburbs were cheaper to buy than rent, down from 30.2% of suburbs this time last year. For units, just 16% of suburbs are cheaper to buy in than rent, down almost 30 percentage points (45.2%).
The richest Aussies live in Sydney, ATO data has found.
Double Bay took out the top spot, living up to its 'Double Pay' nickname, with residents of the 2028 postcode raking in an average annual income of $266,381.
The Australian state that is cheapest to buy a house is Tasmania, which sits off the southeast coast of the Australian mainland and is the country's smallest state.
After maintaining the highest standard of community well-being for seven consecutive years, it comes as no surprise that the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) cemented itself as the best place to live in Australia. WATCH NOW: Wombats are itching to death in Canberra.
The strongest capital city markets – the ones that are defying downturn pressures – are the ones that offer the most affordable prices: Adelaide, Perth and Darwin.