Can tenants still bag a bargain in this hot rental market?
The quarterly RentRabbit.com.au Better Renting Report identified the top 20 suburbs where conditions became both suitable and in favour of renters over the past year.
For suburbs to be considered, they had to have at least 1,000 properties and be located within 250 kilometres from a capital city CBD.
They also needed to meet other eligibility criteria, such as having their vacancy rate increase by at least half a percentage point (0.50%), while median weekly rents must have fallen or remained unchanged in the past 12 months.
Top 20 tenant-friendly suburbs
There were seven house markets and 13 unit markets located across Australia that made the cut.
Most suburbs were located in NSW (8), followed by Victoria (4), Queensland (3), Western Australia (3), South Australia (1) and the ACT (1).
All of the suburbs below have at least a 2% vacancy rate, while median weekly rents range from $225 to $1,500.
| Rank | Market | Suburb | Vacancy rate | Median weekly rent |
| 1 | House | Coolbinia, WA | 7% | $510 |
| 2 | Unit | Essendon West, VIC | 3.9% | $435 |
| 3 | House | Barwon Heads, VIC | 5.9% | $600 |
| 4 | House | Prairiewood, NSW | 4.1% | $470 |
| 5 | House | Gwelup, WA | 2.9% | $650 |
| 6 | Unit | Bellfield, VIC | 3.5% | $490 |
| 7 | House | Castlecrag, NSW | 3.7% | $1,500 |
| 8 | Unit | Beacon Hill, NSW | 2.7% | $480 |
| 9 | Unit | North Narrabeen, NSW | 2.5% | $520 |
| 10 | Unit | Nagambie, VIC | 4.4% | $230 |
| 11 | Unit | Russell Island, QLD | 3.5% | $225 |
| 12 | Unit | Mullaloo, WA | 2.7% | $590 |
| 13 | Unit | Speers Point, NSW | 3.5% | $450 |
| 14 | Unit | Putney, NSW | 3.7% | $580 |
| 15 | House | Deakin, ACT | 4.4% | $820 |
| 16 | Unit | Windang, NSW | 2% | $320 |
| 17 | Unit | Tempe, NSW | 3.1% | $320 |
| 18 | House | Henley Beach South, SA | 2.5% | $680 |
| 19 | Unit | Heathwood, QLD | 3% | $400 |
| 20 | Unit | Robertson, QLD | 2.6% | $365 |
Source: RentRabbit.com.au
Challenges facing renters
Fewer than 50 suburbs across Australia made RentRabbit's list overall, so the suburbs were ranked based on how much the vacancy rate increased.
RentRabbit.com.au co-founder Ben Pretty said it's a concern that there are so few tenant-friendly suburbs in Australia.
"Throughout much of Australia, the data shows that vacancy rates are low, vacancy rates are falling and rents are rising," Mr Pretty said.
"Thankfully, though, there are some markets where vacancy rates are increasing and rents are decreasing, which means tenants aren’t completely out of options."
Mr Pretty said he's concerned about the future, now that the international border has reopened and our population growth is likely to return to pre-pandemic levels.
"Unless we see a corresponding increase in the supply of rental properties, the number of tenant-friendly suburbs is likely to decrease," he said.