SENATOR DEAN SMITH
SHADOW ASSISTANT MINISTER FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND TRADE
SHADOW ASSISTANT MINISTER FOR ENERGY AND EMISSIONS REDUCTION
LIBERAL SENATOR FOR WESTERN AUSTRALIA
22 January 2026
SYDNEY AND MELBOURNE NOW MORE AFFORDABLE THAN PERTH FOR RENTERS
New data has laid bare the depth of Perth’s rental crisis, with Sydney and Melbourne now offering more affordable rental suburbs than Western Australia’s capital – despite having more than double the population.
Latest figures from Cotality’s Rental Review show that Perth has fallen behind both Sydney and Melbourne when it comes to access to affordable rental housing, even at the bottom end of the market.
This crisis is being driven by a worsening failure to deliver new housing supply.
The latest ABS housing construction data confirms Western Australia is now 4,500 homes behind its National Housing Accord target, with just 5,150 homes completed in the September quarter — an 11 per cent fall compared to the same period last year and the fewest quarterly completions since the Accord was agreed in mid-2024.
It is the third consecutive quarter of declining completions, even as Perth’s median house price has surged past $1 million and population growth continues to accelerate.
While housing completions fell in WA, the rest of the nation moved in the opposite direction, delivering around 10,000 more homes than a year earlier.
The supply shortfall is now feeding directly into the rental market.
In Perth, the most affordable suburbs to rent a home range from $473 per week in Orelia to $540 in Kelmscott, with an average of $509 across the five most affordable suburbs.
By comparison, Melbourne’s most affordable rental suburb, Melton South, averages $376 per week, with Sydney’s cheapest suburbs averaging $472.
Despite a population of just 2.3 million, Perth now has less affordable rental options than Sydney or Melbourne.
Perth’s rental vacancy rate sits at just 1.3 per cent, compared with 1.6 per cent in Melbourne and 2.0 per cent in Sydney, highlighting the extreme pressure facing renters in WA.
The pain is being felt most sharply in traditionally affordable suburbs.
In Orelia, rents have surged by more than $190 a week — a 68 per cent increase — since 2022, pushing housing well beyond the reach of low-income earners and people relying on income support such as JobSeeker.
COMMENTS ATTRIBUTABLE TO SENATOR DEAN SMITH
“This data confirms what Perth renters already know — the rental crisis in WA is now worse than Sydney and Melbourne.”
“Even as rents explode, WA is moving backwards on home building. We are now thousands of homes behind target, with completions falling while the rest of the country increases supply.”
“When the state builds just 5,150 homes in a quarter — the lowest since the Housing Accord began — it is no surprise vacancy rates have collapsed and rents have surged.”
“This is the direct result of Labor’s failure to deliver housing supply, combined with unchecked population growth that has pushed demand far beyond what the market can absorb.”
“When vacancy rates fall to 1.3 per cent, renters lose all bargaining power. Competition intensifies, rents rise sharply, and the most vulnerable are pushed out.”
“Without urgent action to lift construction, cut red tape and fix workforce shortages, Perth’s rental crisis will continue to deepen — and more West Australian families will be pushed to breaking point.”