Warrnambool rents rising as rental stress, economic distress grow

The figures from investment research house SQM Research showed Warrnambool's vacancy rate hit a low of 0.3 per cent in September 2020 and hovering about 0.5 per cent since, with fewer than 40 properties available at any one time in the past three years.

The low availability of rental stock offers little hope prices will decline any time soon.

The Standard reported on September 4 that average monthly mortgage repayments in Warrnambool had jumped more than $2000 in the same three-year period, making home ownership unaffordable for the majority of locals.

It is possible the increasing inaccessibility of home-ownership is pushing more residents into the rental market, putting pressure on prices as flat supply fails to keep pace with demand.

The rental price figures showed steady prices for nearly a decade as weekly rents hovered in the low $300 per week bracket until about September 2018 when they inched up to $350 to $380. But it was in September 2020 they really took off, rising from $350 per week to more than $500 per week in August 2023, and the trend line is still pointing higher.

The latest Census data from 2021 showed 28 per cent of Warrnambool residents rented, compared with 32 per cent who owned their home with a mortgage. The 2021 Census also showed more than 30 per cent of rental households were in rental stress and the latest industry data suggested that had pushed beyond 50 per cent nationwide by mid 2023.

Western Victoria Greens MP Sarah Mansfield said some Warrnambool residents were spending 60 per cent of their weekly income on rent. Dr Mansfield said too many properties were sitting empty, stifling supply, and renters had few protections against unreasonable rental increases by landlords.

The Greens have proposed a rent freeze to ensure people can still pay for food and essentials during the ongoing cost-of-living crisis, while local real estate agents have said such a move would push landlords to sell their houses and renters would end up on the streets.

South West Coast MP Roma Britnell predicted rents could rise higher still in late August, arguing a new state government land tax would be passed on by landlords, bumping up costs by $50 per week.

Meanwhile, a report from the Victorian Council of Social Service found 4100 Warrnambool residents were already facing economic distress, a number almost certain to grow if rental and mortgage costs continued to bite.

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