SENATOR DEAN SMITH
SHADOW ASSISTANT MINISTER FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND TRADE
SHADOW ASSISTANT MINISTER FOR ENERGY AND EMISSIONS REDUCTION
LIBERAL SENATOR FOR WESTERN AUSTRALIA
11 February 2026
PERTH NOW LESS AFFORDABLE THAN SYDNEY AND MELBOURNE AS RENTS SURGE 66 PER CENT
New data from Cotality’s latest Rental Review confirms Perth is now at the centre of the nation’s rental crisis, with Sydney and Melbourne offering more affordable rental suburbs than Western Australia’s capital.
Rents in WA have surged 66 per cent over five years – the steepest increase anywhere in Australia, and 50 per cent higher than the national rise of 43.9 per cent.
Over the same period, wages in WA have grown just 18.5 per cent.
The result is unprecedented financial pressure on renters.
Even with wage growth slightly above the national average, incomes have not come close to keeping pace with housing costs.
Families have less room in their budgets and fewer choices about where they live.
Cotality’s data shows Perth’s cheapest suburbs now average $509 per week, compared with $376 in Melbourne’s most affordable and $472 in Sydney’s.
Despite a population of just 2.3 million, Perth has fewer affordable rental options than Sydney or Melbourne.
Perth’s vacancy rate remains critically tight at 1.3 per cent, compared with 1.6 per cent in Melbourne and 2 per cent in Sydney.
This crisis is being driven by Labor’s failure to deliver new housing supply.
ABS housing construction data shows WA is now 4,500 homes behind its National Housing Accord target, with just 5,150 homes completed in the September quarter — down 11 per cent from the previous year and the lowest since the Accord began.
It is the third straight quarter of falling completions, even as Perth’s median house price has passed $1 million.
The supply shortfall is now directly feeding rental inflation.
In Orelia, rents have surged by more than $190 a week — a 68 per cent increase since 2022 — pushing housing beyond the reach of many low-income earners.
COMMENTS ATTRIBUTABLE TO SENATOR DEAN SMITH:
“While wages in WA have grown just 18.5 per cent, rents have surged 66 per cent in five years — most of that under Federal Labor and all of it under WA Labor.”
“This is the steepest rental increase in the country, 50 per cent higher than the national figure, and it is causing unprecedented pain for renters on Labor’s watch.”
“This is the direct result of Labor’s failure to deliver housing supply and an unmodelled immigration policy that has pushed demand beyond what the market can absorb.”
“When vacancy rates fall to 1.3 per cent, rents rise sharply, renters pay the price.”
“Without urgent action to lift construction and cut red tape — the rental crisis in the West will only deepen.”
