Rental markets in Logan’s older suburbs are at a turning point, seeing families joining forces in some areas.
Century21 property manager Gabrielle Oltarczy said historically cheaper rentals were beginning to see higher yields.
Although this is pushing away lower income earners, Ms Oltarczy said it was helping raise the image of some suburbs.
“There’s a lot of demand for rental properties in low socio-economic areas like Woodridge and Kingston, but there’s a shift in the type of people we’re getting in these properties,” Ms Oltarczy said.
“Because investors are buying homes and rennovating them, it’s attracting more ‘desirable’ tenants.
“Now the people who don’t have that type of money are looking at different suburbs, and we’re seeing them be pushed out further and further west.”
She said many people were “grouping together” and moving in friends or family.
Ms Oltarczy said the best way to secure a rental in such a high-demand market was through presentation.
“Now it comes down to who has the best application and who is the most presentable,” she said.
“Attending rental inspections is one of the biggest things we’re struggling with.
“People are applying for properties without even inspecting them, and that makes it really hard because you can say what you want on paper, but without meeting the person, how do you know that’s them on the application.”
Ms Oltarcy said she told most of her applicants to inspect the property in person if they “want to stand a chance”.
Propertyworks property manager Tom Rivera said some Logan residents were applying for hundreds of rental properties.
“There are tons of people looking for rentals at Kingston and Woodridge who are struggling,” he said.
“People moving out of home for the first time or people who have had problems with their previous rentals – which could just be struggling to pay rent for a couple of months – they are really struggling.
“I had some applicants the other week, literally the most gorgeous people you’ll ever meet, but because they’re down to one income at the moment, they had to apply for more than 20 places before they got one.”
He said that despite recent price hikes, there were opportunities in these suburbs to find cheaper rentals.
“Certain price points have been really sticky,” Mr Rivera said.
“I think that people who can afford more than $500 week, they probably won’t be looking for an average three-bedroom, unrenovated home at Kingston.
“I have a record number of properties avaliable right now, and March is not traditionally a busy time, so I don’t know if we’re at the beginning of another upwards swing.”
