DOUGLAS SHIRE RENTALS: Availabilities up; but prices will stay high
HOUSING PRESSURES
New analysis shows rental vacancies have improved slightly in Douglas, but prices remain high and will probably continue to rise for some time to come.
The latest report by property researchers, Suburbtrends, shows a rise in the vacancy rate for the Douglas-Daintree area – up to 1.9% in July, from 1.4% in June.
But the upward movement in vacancies is in contrast to most of the rest of Australia, including the large cities, and is unlikely to continue for very long.
Despite recent signs of a possible increase, vacancy rates have instead dropped significantly in 50 key regions across the nation.
There might be a few more rentals available locally, but that will have little or no effect on the price. Once rents go up, they very rarely come down again.
The median rent in a list of nine properties in Port Douglas – both houses and units – we saw advertised was a staggering $700 per week for a house. For a unit, it was $480.
At the top rental rate of the Douglas region vacancy list was a five-bedroom house in Port Douglas for $1,250pw.
At the other end of the scale, a one-bedroom unit in Wonga Beach was asking $250pw.
In Mossman, you would pay $750pw for a four-bedroom house, in Bonnie Doon $625pw for a four bedroom house and $900pw could get you a five-bedroom house in Craiglie.
The largest proportion of the household budget, in this case rent, continues to creep upward, adding further pressure to the rising cost of living.
It’s difficult to see any relief in rental costs in the near future, unless there is a sudden influx of new housing stock available for rentals. But there is little or no sign of that in Douglas in coming months.
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