Sydney's rental hotspots revealed

By Andrew Batt:The property rental market in Sydney (pictured) is heating up, with prices of one- and two-bedroom rentals on the rise in many locations. New research from PRDnationwide research revealed rents for two-bedroom apartments in Campbelltown, Fairfield, Liverpool, Maitland and Canterbury are growing faster than any other areas in the Sydney Greater Metropolitan Region since 2006. Research analyst Oded Reuveni-Etzioni identified the areas which experienced the highest rental growth over the past five years. He said: "Savvy investors are attuned to the changing preferences of renters and recognise the growing rental markets in the middle and outer suburbs of the metropolitan area. Investment opportunities also exist in areas outside the metropolitan area, where strong demand and limited supply of units maintains the pressure on rent prices." The research covered medium- and high-density dwellings in the Sydney Greater Metropolitan Region (GMR) which includes the Sydney metropolitan area, the Hunter and the Illawarra. Not surprisingly the City of Sydney recorded the highest rental prices for both one-bedroom properties (AU$500/S$630per week) and two-bedroom units (AU$670/S$845per week). "Other areas to appear in top 10 highest rent prices list were Woollahra, Canada Bay and North Sydney," added Reuveni-Etzioni. The Ku-Ring-Gai Local Government Area recorded the highest growth in demand - with an average 22.6 percent increase in new bonds lodged per annum for the past five years. "The number of bonds held in the Ku-Ring-Gai LGA more than doubled since 2006," he said, adding that this indicates a shift in tenant demand from inner to middle and outer parts of Sydney Metropolitan Area." Other booming areas outside the Sydney Metropolitan Area include Cessnock and Maitland which both recorded a strong increase in the lodgement of bonds for strata-titled dwellings, with Maitland also recording one of the strongest five year average growths in rent prices at 10 percent per annum for a two-bedroom unit. "The growth stems from large infrastructure projects that draw a transient population of construction workers, and from mining employees relocating to the Hunter and choosing to rent in the short term," said the researcher. Reuveni-Etzioni said given the strong growth in rent prices in the middle and outer rings of Sydney and regional areas of the GMR, and the increasingly restrictive rent prices in Sydney's inner ring, it is likely that lenders will continue their support for medium density developments in areas that until recently represented higher investment risk. "This in turn will ensure that developers maintain a full project pipeline in the outer and regional parts of the GMR," he concluded. Related Stories: West beckons affluent Asian buyers

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