Data from a real estate report shows a suburb in the regional town of Port Pirie is one of five in South Australia with the biggest increase in weekly rent prices.
Key points:
- Weekly asking rents in a Port Pirie suburb have increased by 25 per cent in the past year
- There are six vacant public houses in the town that are yet to be filled with tenants
- Another 21 public homes still need to undergo significant maintenance
Domain's quarterly rent report revealed weekly rental asking prices in Port Pirie West increased by 25 per cent in the past year, with the median now $250.
Port Pirie-based real estate agent Matt Ganley said the regional town's rental vacancy rate was virtually zero.
Mr Ganley said the rental market was the most competitive he had ever seen it, with demand far outstripping the supply of houses.
"This is as tight as I've seen it in 30 years," he said.
"If we put a property up on a given afternoon ... there'll be a dozen-plus applications going for that property.
"It's effectively as quickly as they are ready to be leased, they are being leased."
Mr Ganley said despite the rent rise, the housing shortage in the region meant people have been willing to pay more just to secure a home.
"A lot of properties that were previously $180, $200 are certainly now $250, $230
"Because there are so few properties that are available, all the ones that are tenanted, those tenants aren't moving because there's nowhere to go to.
"So, there's that knock-on effect where there are even less available again."
Shelter SA executive director Alice Clark said some landlords had taken advantage of the huge demand and the lack of supply.
Dr Clark said she thought regulating the level of rent increases was something that should be considered
"I would recommend looking at introducing another moratorium as we had at the beginning of the pandemic ... on any further rent increases for at least 12 months.
"I think it could be something that some landlords would adhere to and it would stop another 25 per cent increase in places like Port Pirie."
Empty public houses
While rent rates have continued to rise in the region, so has the number of people waiting to secure public housing.
A SA Housing Authority spokesperson said six public houses in Port Pirie were currently vacant and on offer to potential tenants.
However, the ABC understands one of these homes has been empty for more than a month.
More than 600 registered applicants have registered for public housing in the region.waiting for public housing who have registered in the region.
Of those applications, 113 were in Category 1, which meant they needed urgent housing and were at risk of homelessness.
A further 21 public houses were unable to be tenanted because they required significant maintenance.
Dr Clark, who was surprised to hear no one had moved into any of the six vacant houses, said there's been inefficiencies and underinvestment in the maintenance of public houses.
"If homes are structurally sound and they need to be renovated or have maintenance done that should be an absolute priority."
Dr Clark said despite some homes being vacant, there is still an urgent need for more public housing right across the state.
She said while the number of people on the waiting list had not increased, more people had been who accessing homelessness services.
"There are more and more people who may have been long-term renters who are finding themselves leaving one tenancy and unable to get into the next one as they may have done in the past.
"There are some plans underway for increases in supply of social housing, but unfortunately we're probably not going to see that appear on the ground any time soon in the near future."
Dr Clark said more immediate solutions should be considered in the meantime, such as erecting temporary villages or repurposing accommodation that was not being used.
The Housing Authority did not clarify why the vacant properties were remained vacant but said the process of tenanting all the properties could vary in time.