- Rents in Australia rose by 1.3% over the December quarter
- It's up from 0.9% over the previous quarter
- The increase sees the national median rent jump by 5.2% in 2025, up from 4.8% in 2024
National rental growth of 1.3% in the December quarter was up on the 0.9% recorded the previous quarter, according to Cotality's latest rental data.
It pushed annual rental growth to 5.2% in 2025, up from 4.8% in 2024 although it remains below the post-pandemic surges of more than 8% between 2021 and 2023.
Low supply continues to drive rental growth in Australia, with listings 11% lower than in the December quarter last year - and 17% down on the previous five-year average.
Rent by the numbers
National median rent was a record $681 per week - up $204 over the past five years, or 42.9%.
Rent for units has shown stronger growth than for houses (47.2% vs 41.2%) over that period.
Vacancy rates remained tight on a national basis at 1.7%, well below the pre-COVID decade average of 3.3%.
Rental growth in regional markets - 6.2% - outpaced growth of 4.8% across the combined capital cities.
Darwin led annual growth with an increase of 8.2% followed by Hobart (7.2%) while Melbourne recorded the smallest annual increase at 2.9%.
Rental growth 'bad news'
Cotality's research director Tim Lawless described the latest data as "bad news" for both renters and inflation.
The near 43% increase in rents over the past five years has seen many struggling to meet rental costs.
By contrast, the previous five year period saw rents rise by just 7.5% - or $33 a week.
Based on affordability metrics, Cotality calculates households are now dedicating a record high 33.4% of their pre-tax income to paying rent.
"The reacceleration in rental values is also bad news for inflation and the cash rate outlook as rental costs hold a significant weight in the CPI calculation," Mr Lawless said.
Inflation back in the headlines
The latest Cotality data comes just before the November CPI figures are due to be released later on Wednesday.
The monthly data is widely expected to show inflation is back in play in the wake of three cuts to the cash rate in 2025.
Housing, including rent, has been a big contributor in pushing inflation higher, along with electricity costs following the end of government rebates and services charges for health, education, insurances, etc.
Inflation re-emerged in the Australian economy in the final months of 2025, seeing markets and analysts canning their forecasts of further cuts to the cash rate in 2026.
Currently, big bank economists at CommBank and NAB expect the Reserve Bank of Australia to increase the cash rate at its first monetary policy meeting of 2026 in early February.
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